US EditionClimate change extends wildfire burning hours across North America, study finds
Researchers found climate change has added 36% more wildfire-friendly hours across North America, making fires start earlier, last later and burn overnight.
- On Friday, a study in Science Advances found North American wildfire-favorable hours have surged 36% over the last 50 years, eroding typical nighttime lulls that once gave firefighters crucial breaks.
- Human-Caused climate change is warming nights faster than days, preventing humidity from rebounding from daytime dryness and extending burning windows across the continent.
- Western Canada gained roughly four to five extra fire-conducive hours per season, while days with round-the-clock burning potential in northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories jumped 232% since the 1970s.
- Recent megafires in Lahaina, Hawaii, Jasper, Alberta, and Los Angeles highlighted nighttime firefighting challenges, prompting Alberta and British Columbia to equip helicopter pilots with night-vision goggles.
- Study co-author Kaiwei Luo warned that by mid-century, Canada's record-breaking 2023 fire season could be "rapidly normalized," with extreme fire events becoming the expected norm if burning constraints continue weakening.
60 Articles
60 Articles
Wildfires used to 'go to sleep' at night. Climate change is turning them into prime burning hours
Burning time for North American wildfires is going into overtime. Flames are lasting later into the night and starting earlier in the morning because human-caused climate change is extending the hotter and drier conditions that feed fires, a new study found.
Nights and mornings can help slow the spread of forest fires and provide firefighters with a crucial respite.
Climate change disrupts nocturnal lulls in forest fire activity, reducing firefighters' opportunities for intervention.
Denver Post
Wildfires used to ‘go to sleep’ at night. Climate change has them burning overtime
Nights are becoming warmer and drier due to climate change, extending North American wildfire burn time. Potential burning hours have increased 36%
Associated Press News
Wildfires used to 'go to sleep' at night. Climate change has them burning overtime
Wildfires used to die down and even stop at night with cooler temperatures and increased humidity. But a study released Friday says climate change is making burning weather more around the clock in North America because night is becoming warmer and drier.
The Toronto Star
Climate change is eroding typical nighttime breaks in wildfire activity, study says
Climate change is breaking down typical nighttime lulls in wildfire activity, a new study by researchers in Canada suggests, eroding opportunities for crews to contain the intensifying blazes.
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