Canadian research shows extreme wildfire weather increasing around the globe
Global News
New research suggests the risk of extreme wildfire events is increasing across the globe, with some of the largest increases in Western Canada.
New research suggests the risk of extreme wildfire events is increasing across the globe, with some of the largest increases in Western Canada.
The research, conducted by Natural Resources Canada and published Thursday in the journal Nature, says rising temperatures and falling humidity are the biggest drivers of the change.
“Our predictions of the future are showing those same trends,” said lead author Piyush Jain. “We can expect fire weather to get more extreme.
Previous research found that fire seasons are getting longer, with an associated increase in the amount of forest burned. Jain and his colleagues wanted to look at how extreme fire risk has changed along with it.
They used a tool called the fire weather index, a numerical rating that uses temperature and precipitation information to rate the danger of an out-of-control wildfire.
In Alberta, a fire weather index of 19 is considered to be very high. A fire ignited under such conditions is likely to outpace efforts to douse it.
Over the years 1979 to 2020, that index for the interior of British Columbia climbed between 10 and 20 points. Globally, the index has increased by an average of 14 per cent.
Last summer, a stretch of very hot, dry weather pushed the fire hazard in B.C. into uncharted territory — what fire officials called “extremely extreme.” Shortly after, the village of Lytton was wiped out when a fire ignited.
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