Study Ties Warming Temps to Uptick in Huge Wildfires

Catastrophic wildfires in the Western U.S. are often discussed in superlatives these days, with blazes burning land more violently and more frequently in recent years than at any point on record.  Those changes are considered partly driven by global warming, and a new University of Wyoming study shows that even the smallest increase in average temperature —  0.5°C (0.9°F)  —  could bring a dramatic increase in wildfire activity at higher elevations.

The study also suggests that global warming may be ushering in an era of high-elevation wildfires unlike any seen in more than 1,000 years.

The connection between catastrophic wildfires and climate change has been major news this year as record-breaking drought and withering heat have helped fuel more than 50,000 wildfires.  Those blazes have scorched more than 9 million acres in the West and Alaska in 2015 — more land burned than at any point since 2006.

Warming in Alaska, where average temperatures have risen by 3°F in the last 50 years, is a prime suspect for huge wildfires there this year, while in the Lower 48, studies show that for every 1°C (1.8°F) of warming, the size of the area burned by wildfire in the West could quadruple.

The new study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provides more evidence that even a small amount of warming has a huge effect on wildfire.

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