Massive Wildfires: A Worrisome Mystery for Scientists

28th January 2025

2 minutes read

Massive Wildfires: A Worrisome Mystery for Scientists

In an era where massive wildfires are destroying cities and generating smoke plumes visible from space, scientists admit they are still far from fully understanding the wide-ranging impacts of these phenomena on humans, nature, and the climate.

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Athens, Hawaii, and Los Angeles have recently suffered from devastating wildfires, while record-breaking forest fires have been observed in Canada in recent years.

Last year, a group of scientists from around the globe, supported by the European Space Agency and the Future Earth network, warned in a report that these shifts in wildfire intensity represent an “unprecedented danger” that remains largely misunderstood.

Researchers worldwide are striving to uncover the truth. Some board aircraft to fly through wildfire smoke plumes, others analyze satellite images of smoke columns visible from space, or collect soil and water samples to assess the fires’ impact on humans and the planet.

Occasionally, these scientists themselves become victims of the fires.

“The Worst Enemy”

Stephen Pyne, a historian specializing in wildfires, explains that fire has long been a “companion” to humanity but has now become “our worst enemy.”

This expert has dubbed the current era the “Pyrocene,” emphasizing that climate change over the past century has made certain conditions, such as heat, drought, and strong winds, more favorable for devastating wildfires.

However, global warming is not the sole cause of increasing wildfire frequency and intensity.

Heavy rainfall, intensified by climate change due to altered water cycles, also raises wildfire risks. Such rain fosters rapid vegetation growth, which turns into ideal fuel during subsequent drought periods, as seen in Los Angeles.

Research from 2021 also identified a link between Arctic ice sheet melting and the intensification of wildfires in the western United States.

However, wildfires can also be triggered by lightning, faulty power lines, or simple acts of arson.

In some regions, poor fire prevention practices have led to an accumulation of highly flammable vegetation.

Pollution

Scientists continue to uncover new wildfire effects.

Wildfires alter weather patterns by changing wind dynamics, releasing soot into the atmosphere, and even triggering lightning.

They also generate massive amounts of carbon dioxide and significantly impact the Earth’s atmosphere.

In 2023, Canadian wildfires emitted more carbon in five months than Russia’s annual fossil fuel emissions, according to NASA estimates. Although trees absorbed part of this carbon, the overall effects remain substantial.

Also in 2023, scientists revealed that a chemical reaction caused by smoke from Australia’s massive wildfires widened the ozone hole by 10% in 2020.

Sometimes, wildfires have unexpected consequences.

One study found that ashes from Australian wildfires fell into the ocean thousands of miles away, promoting a plankton bloom that temporarily absorbed additional carbon dioxide.

These ashes can travel vast distances. Joan Llort, from the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, led a study showing that some of this ash landed on ice caps, accelerating their melting.