Climate change: wildfire risk has grown nearly everywhere – but we can still influence where and how fires strike

Humans have raised CO₂ levels in the atmosphere to 50% above what they were before the industrial revolution. As a result, the world has already warmed by 1.1°C over the past century and reports indicate that it could reach 2.7°C of warming by the end of this century. Bouts of severe drought, heat and low humidity are becoming more extreme as the climate warms. As climate change makes hot and dry conditions – often termed “fire weather” – more common and severe, vegetation dries out and landscapes become more flammable, pushing up the odds of dangerous wildfires.