Wildfires: All it takes is one spark

Unusually hot and dry conditions in parts of the northern hemisphere have been conducive to fires raging from the Mediterranean to in particular the Arctic. Climate change, with rising temperatures and shifts in precipitation patterns, is amplifying the risk of wildfires and prolonging the season.

WMOs Global Atmosphere Watch Programme has released a short animation which highlights the risks and explains how advances in satellite technology make it possible to detect and monitor fire dangers. Improving forecasting systems is important for predictions and warnings around fire danger and related air pollution hazards.

In addition to the direct threat from burning, wildfires also release harmful pollutants including particulate matter and toxic gases such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and non-methane organic compounds into the atmosphere.

Particles and gases from burning biomass can be carried over long distances, affecting air quality in regions far away.

Heatwaves fuel fires

Recent fires raging in Siberia were described as unprecedented for June in 17 years of the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS) Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS). This assimilates fire radiative power observations from satellite-based sensors to produce daily estimates of biomass burning emissions which are part of the extensive measurements performed by many stations of the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Programme. These measurements are essential for forecasts, research on atmospheric composition and to develop warning systems.

Temperatures in Alaska hit record highs of up to 80F (32C) in Alaska on 4 July, fuelling fires in the state, including along the Yukon River along the Arctic Circle. In Canada, smoke from massive wildfires near Ontario are producing large amounts of particulate matter, affecting air quality. The heatwave in Europe at the end of June also triggered wildfires in a number of countries, including Germany, Greece and Spain.

Climate change

The northern part of the world is warming faster than the planet as a whole. That heat is drying out forests and making them more susceptible to burn. A recent study found Earths boreal forests are now burning at a rate unseen in at least 10,000 years.

Wildfires also release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. For instance, the 2014 megafires in Canada scorched more than 7 million acres of forest, releasing more than 103 million tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere half as much as all the plants and trees in Canada typically absorb in an entire year, according to a study by NASA.

The pristine Arctic environment is particularly sensitive/fragile and warming faster than most other regions. Particles of smoke can land on snow and ice, causing the ice to absorb sunlight that it would otherwise reflect, and thereby accelerating the warming in the Arctic. Fires in the Arctic also increase the risk of further permafrost thawing that releases methane, which is also a greenhouse gas.

In view of the risks, WMO has initiated a Vegetation Fire and Smoke Pollution Warning and Advisory System to develop, implement and harmonize fire forecasting across the globe, providing a better picture of fires and related impacts and hazards everywhere. The Southeast Asia Regional Centre, operated by the meteorological service of Singapore, is already producing forecasts. 

Vegetation Fire and Smoke Pollution Warning and Advisory System (VFSP-WAS): Concept Note and Expert Recommendations is here

Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service is here

Global fire danger forecast is available here

Europe Forest Fire Information System here