Our planet is burning in unexpected ways - here’s how we can protect people and nature

• Yet human activities in the current era, sometimes called the “Anthropocene”, are reshaping patterns of fire across the planet.
• In our new research, published in the Annual Review of Environment and Resources, we used satellite data to create global maps of where and how fires are burning.
• Our international team found strong evidence fires are burning in unexpected places, at unusual times and in rarely observed ways.

Here’s how fire patterns are changing

• Satellite data provide evidence of changes in fire patterns at a global scale.
• An increase in fire size and the frequency of large fires has recently been observed in forests and woodlands of the western United States.
• In Australia, satellite records show the frequency of very large forest fires has increased over the past four decades.

Changes in fire affect air, land and water

• Changes in fire patterns are modifying water cycles, too.
• In the western United States, fires are reaching higher elevations and having strong impacts on snow and water availability.
• New studies are revealing how the air, land and water that support life on Earth are connected by fires.

Humans are responsible for the changes

• A pattern of extreme fire weather outside of natural climate variation is already emerging in North America, southern Europe and the Amazon basin.
• Humans modify fire regimes by changing land use for agricultural, forestry and urban purposes.
• Humans have transported plants and animals across the globe, resulting in novel mixes of species that modify fuels and fire regimes.

Using knowledge and practice of fire to achieve sustainability goals

The pace and scale of these changes represent challenges to humanity, but knowledge and practice of fire can help to achieve sustainability goals. This includes:
• David Bowman receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Natural Hazards Research Australia, and NSW Department of Planning and Environment.
• Grant Williamson receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Natural Hazards Research Australia, and NSW Department of Planning and Environment.