Over The Past Two Decades, Wildfires Are Increasing In Numbers & Intensity

Wednesday, June 26, 2024, 6:00 P.M. ET. By Ryan Metz: Englebrook Independent News,

MANHATTAN, NY.- For years, scientists and conservationists alike have been sounding the alarm on the increase and intensity of wildfires across the globe, but now they have solid proof that they were right. A recent analysis of satellite images reveals that extreme wildfires have more than doubled in frequency over the past two decades, and many are blaming climate change.

     Wildfires are classified by their Fire Radiative Power (FRP). This is the thermal radiative energy output from fires that is measured in watts and joules per second. The study by Cunningham et al, in Nature, Ecology and Evolution found that the average FRP has increased by a factor of 2.3, or more than double (see graph below).

     Infrared records were used to measure the energy intensity of 31 million fire events over the past two decades, with a focus on the most extreme ones, roughly 2,900 major events. The researchers then calculated that there was a 2.2-fold increase in the frequency of extreme events globally from 2003 through 2023 and a 2.3-fold boost in the average intensity of the top 20 most intense fires each year.

     The places most likely to experience these more intense wildfires are Canada, Russia, and the United States due to their large contiguous forests and coniferous trees. The frequency of wildfires in these countries is much larger than the 2.2-fold increase elsewhere, with an 11.1-fold increase in pine and spruce forest lands and a 7.3-fold increase in boreal or taiga forest lands. “It’s the extreme events that we care about the most, and those are the ones that are increasing quite significantly,” says lead author Calum Cunningham, an ecologist at the University of Tasmania in Hobart, Australia. “Surprisingly, this has never been shown at a global scale.”

     While climate change is a significant driver, other factors like land management practices and invasive species also play a major role. Scientists and firefighters are urging action on multiple fronts to mitigate wildfire risk. This includes sustainable forest management, controlled burns to reduce fuel loads, and investing in fire prevention technologies.