Spatial and temporal expansion of global wildland fire activity in response to climate change
Universidade de Santiago de Compostela
Abstract
Global warming is expected to alter wildfire potential and fire season severity, but the magnitude and location of change is still unclear. Here, we show that climate largely determines present fire-prone regions and their fire season. We categorize these regions according to the climatic characteristics of their fire season into four classes, within general Boreal, Temperate, Tropical and Arid climate zones. Based on climate model projections, we assess the modification of the fire-prone regions in extent and fire season length at the end of the 21st century. We find that due to global warming, the global area with frequent fire-prone conditions would increase by 29%, mostly in Boreal (+111%) and Temperate…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 35.44
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 70
Authors
3Topics & keywords
- Boreal
- Temperate climate
- Climate change
- Global warming
- Environmental science
- Climatology
- Taiga
- Global change
- Climate action