Why fires are bad

Scientists have shown that this kind of low-temperature, flameless combustion can burn in peat and other organic matter, such as coal, for months or even years. USA , — Researchers are now assessing just how bad this Arctic fire season was. Most of the burning happened in permafrost zones, where the ground is normally frozen year-round. Yet even that is likely to be an underestimate, says Mark Parrington, an atmospheric scientist at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts in Reading, UK, who was involved in the analysis.

Fires that burn in peatland can be too low-intensity for satellite sensors to capture. Smith has calculated that about half of the Arctic wildfires in May and June were on peatlands — and that in many cases, the fires went on for days, suggesting that they were fuelled by thick layers of peat or other soil rich in organic matter. How peat could protect the planet. And the August study 1 found that there are nearly four million square kilometres of peatlands in northern latitudes.

More of that than previously thought is frozen and shallow — and therefore vulnerable to thawing and drying out, says Gustaf Hugelius, a permafrost scientist at Stockholm University who led the investigation. He and his colleagues also found that although peatlands have been helping to cool the climate for thousands of years, by storing carbon as they accumulate, they will probably become a net source of carbon being released into the atmosphere — which could happen by the end of the century.

Fire risk in Siberia is predicted to increase as the climate warms 2 , but by many measures, the shift has already arrived, says Amber Soja, an environmental scientist who studies Arctic fires at the US National Institute of Aerospace in Hampton, Virginia. Hugelius, G. Natl Acad. Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. JavaScript appears to be disabled on this computer. Please click here to see any active alerts. Smoke is made up of a complex mixture of gases and fine particles produced when wood and other organic materials burn.

Enter your box content here. The biggest health threat from smoke is from fine particles. These microscopic particles can penetrate deep into your lungs.

They can cause a range of health problems, from burning eyes and a runny nose to aggravated chronic heart and lung diseases.

Exposure to particle pollution is even linked to premature death. Here are some steps you can take to protect your health:. If you have heart, vascular or lung disease, including asthma, talk with your health care provider. If you have heart, vascular or lung disease, including asthma, talk with your health care provider before fire season to make plans. All Natural disasters. Jan 25, Sep 30, Abbey H Feb 18, Wonderopolis Feb 24, Henry Apr 2, Wonderopolis Apr 2, Carmen Chalut Nov 19, This really helped me with my school work about forest fires!!!!

Thank you Wonderopolis Nov 19, Hi Carmen! We're so glad that we could help! I learned somthing very important from this video and I am now not afraid! Wonderopolis Apr 1, That is very interesting to me I learned something!

Kahler's 2nd Grade Class Apr 1, Wonderopolis, Thank you for a great wonder today. It was an interesting new point of view about forest fires.

Thanks for your insight! Hey it's me again I have seen a forest fire but I learned that not all forest fires are bad. I was riding in my dad's truck when I saw the forest fire. Wonderopolis Mar 30, Alyssa Wacker Mar 29, I think tomorrow's wonder of the day will be about plants or growing plants. We think you're on to something, Wonder Friend Alyssa!

Great guesses! Princess Chocolate Mar 29, I would be really scared if I had to start fires! Wonderopolis Mar 29, I guess that the wonder was going to be about fires and I was right yeah! Last year I researched about fires I found out heaps of amazing facts my poster was better than every one else in the class! Oriana Mar 29, I never knew that forest fires caused so much damage, and how much time does it take for a forest fire to get that big? Dean Mar 29, So I get how forest fires can be good, but how?

I didn't understand the video exactly. Did it mean it makes the plants healthier? Emmy from Rockin' Room 16 Mar 29, Thanks for making this one! I've always wanted to know!

It must be scary to be in a forest fire, if you live near it. I would freak out! Thanks Wonderopolis! Curry's Class Mar 29, Last summer we saw the devastation that forest fires can cause.

We didn't know that there could be good reasons for burning the forests. Thank you! Mar 29, I was right!! I made predictions and guessed that the wonder of the day was going to be about forest fires and I was right!!!!! Diamond Divas Mar 29, We learned that fire can help desirable trees break out of its shell.

Thank you Wonderopolis! I really thought all forest fires killed nature. Now I know it's actually very useful. Thanks for posting this! I don't get it I was told all forest fires are bad! So does that mean forest fires won't always hurt you? Bayko's Class Mar 29, We think tomorrow's wonder will be about a person growing up or plants growing.

I always thought forest fires were bad and they hurt the animals. I never knew how helpful they can be. Jacob Cotsonika Mar 29, I didn't know some people practice burning out forest fires. It was a great video. At the end, when it was on the news, I was like, "This is on the news! Related Wonders for You to Explore Match its definition: lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits. Word Match Congratulations! The map below, which uses data from the Science study, illustrates how burnt area has shifted in different world regions from On the map, dark blue indicates a large percentage decrease in burnt area, where deep red indicates a large percentage increase.

The map features a wide blue band stretching across northern sub-Saharan countries from Senegal and the Gambia to Sudan and South Sudan, indicating percentage decreases in area burned by fire in this region.

This is likely down to land conversion, says Santin. Other decreases in burnt area, including in central South America, Madagascar and parts of southeast Asia may also be driven by the conversion of wildland to agricultural land, she adds.

The authors of the Science paper also attribute decreases in burnt area to the conversion of savannah to agricultural land. Decreases in developed parts of the world, including northern Australia, could be down to improved fire management techniques , adds Munroe. In the US, there has been dispute over the relative degree to which forest management techniques and climate change have contributed to a recent surge in wildfires in regions such as California.

For centuries, Native Americans managed fire risk in woodlands using prescribed burning. However, the arrival of non-native settlers saw the use of prescribed burning decrease, causing the landscape to shift to being more dominated by trees over the past century. Lake, who is of indigenous American Indian descent , tells Carbon Brief:. Lake says:. It is also worth noting that human land-use change can greatly increase the area burned by wildfires.

For example, recent surges in deforestation in the Amazon have been linked to greatly increased fire activity. Alencar explains:.

It is the most inexpensive tool that people have to convert biomass into ashes so that [they can use the land] for some pasture fields. Fires in the country have been exacerbated further by the practice of peatland draining. In order to grow palm oil and other crops, such as timber, peatlands are often drained of their natural moisture — leaving them dry and more likely to catch alight.

The influence of human land-use activity on global burnt area makes it an imperfect metric of how climate change is truly affecting wildfires, Prof Anthony Westerling a fire and drought researcher at the University of California, Merced , told Carbon Brief in Another way that scientists could study the influence of climate change is by tracking fire severity.

However, there is little research into how fire severity has changed at a global scale in recent decades. A string of research papers have linked increasing fire severity in North America to climate change. So, more days with increased fire risk, longer fire seasons. The regions with the largest increase are shaded orange and red, while the areas with decreasing risk are shown in green.

Projected changes in the number of days exceeding the 93rd percentile of the Fire Weather Index FWI by the mid 21st century under a high emissions scenario RCP8. Dark red shading indicates the largest increases, while the pale green shows small decreases. Red triangles and blue dots show recent extreme wildfire events as per previous figure.

Source: Bowman et al. Other studies have investigated how the risk of fire weather is likely to change in different world regions if the world does take action to tackle climate change. In the Mediterranean, limiting global warming to 1. However, though the risk of wildfires is likely to heighten in coming decades, it is not yet clear whether the area burned by wildfires will increase correspondingly, says Santin:. It is possible that efforts by humans to suppress wildfires could stem increases in the area burned by fire, despite the increased risk posed by climate change, she says.

Receive our free Daily Briefing for a digest of the past 24 hours of climate and energy media coverage, or our Weekly Briefing for a round-up of our content from the past seven days.

Just enter your email below:. However, it may be the case that, in some areas, the risks posed by climate change will become too large to overcome with adaptation measures, she adds:. Indeed, a research paper published in found that, globally, human efforts could suppress wildfire increases in the near future, but that these efforts may become ineffective later on in the century.

The authors write:. Update 21 September This article was updated to include recent fires in the western US and Brazil. Get a Daily or Weekly round-up of all the important articles and papers selected by Carbon Brief by email. By entering your email address you agree for your data to be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Firemen battle with the flames in Kalamos