Background:
Wildfires are in the news literally every day. Fire seasons are starting earlier, burning hotter, and ending later. In recent times, France, Spain, Canada, Greece, Brazil, Hawaii, Chile, Oregon (U.S.), and California (U.S.)–among many other places–have faced (or are facing) record-breaking and devastating fires.
There is a direct connection between wildfires and climate change.
**updated July 2026**
Sources:
*Wildfires: what does the evidence say? (2025). The Lancet, 405(10475), 273.
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*Cunningham, C. X., Williamson, G. J., & Bowman, D. M. J. S. (2024). Increasing frequency and intensity of the most extreme wildfires on Earth. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 8(8), 1420-1425.
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*Touma, D., Stevenson, S., Swain, D. L., Singh, D., Kalashnikov, D. A., & Huang, X. (2022). Climate change increases risk of extreme rainfall following wildfire in the western United States. Science Advances, 8(13), 1.
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*Crockett, J. L., & Westerling, A. L. (2018). Greater Temperature and Precipitation Extremes Intensify Western U.S. Droughts, Wildfire Severity, and Sierra Nevada Tree Mortality. Journal of Climate, 31(1), 341-354.
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*Park Williams, A., Abatzoglou, J. T., Gershunov, A., Janin Guzman‐Morales, Bishop, D. A., Balch, J. K., & Lettenmaier, D. P. (2019). Observed Impacts of Anthropogenic Climate Change on Wildfire in California. Earth’s Future, 7(8), 892-910.
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*Westerling, A. L., & Bryant, B. P. (2008). Climate change and wildfire in California. Climatic Change, Supplement, 87, 231-249.
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