Abstract
Extreme wildfire events in recent years are shaking our established knowledge of how fire regimes respond to climate variables and how societies need to react to fire impacts. Albeit fires are stochastic and extreme in nature, the speed, intensity, and extension of new extreme fires that have occurred during the last years are unprecedented. Here, we identify common features of these emerging novel extreme wildfire events characterized by very high fire intensity and rapid rates of spread, and we review the major mechanisms behind their occurrence. We then point to the major challenges that extreme wildfire events pose to science and societies worldwide, both today and in the future. Climate change and other factors are contributing to more flammable landscapes and the promotion of unstable atmospheric conditions that ultimately promote wildfire development. Anticipating these novel conditions is a key scientific challenge with paramount implications for present and future fire management, ecosystems, and human well-being.
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Acknowledgements
We thank José Luís Ordoñez for his advice in composing the figures here included.
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This study was funded by the Spanish Government through the INMODES (CGL2014-59742-C2-2-R) project. This research has also received funding from the Generalitat de Catalunya’s CERCA Programme.
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A.D. and L.B. conceived the study. A.D. reviewed all the wildfires and articles cited, analyzed the data, and wrote the paper. M.C. and L.B. contributed to the knowledge generation and integration and commented on the manuscript.
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Duane, A., Castellnou, M. & Brotons, L. Towards a comprehensive look at global drivers of novel extreme wildfire events. Climatic Change 165, 43 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-021-03066-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-021-03066-4