Human activity has added an average of 40 days to the global wildfire season, fundamentally changing when fires occur around the world.
New research from the University of Tasmania, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, shows that more than half of all burned area now happens outside the natural fire season, the period when lightning and dry conditions naturally coincide.
The study analysed fuel moisture and lightning data across more than 700 regions worldwide, finding that humans have altered wildfire timing in nearly every environment on Earth, from tropical savannas to boreal forests and Mediterranean landscapes.
“Before people began influencing fire, wildfires mostly happened when lightning struck during dry conditions,” said lead author Dr Todd Ellis, Research Associate in Physical Pyrogeography at the University of Tasmania.
To read the full article, click the link below: Humans have stretched the world’s wildfire season by more than a month | University of Tasmania
