Wildfires under climate change: A burning issue

Recent years have seen devastating wildfires in many regions of the world, following heatwaves and droughts. Over continents and biomes, there are similarities among these extreme wildfire events in the form of underlying risk factors, hazards and consequences for society and the environment. Long-term effects on physical and mental health are not limited to those fighting wildfires, evacuated, or suffering great loss.

The observed trends towards more dangerous fire weather conditions for wildfires are likely to continue increasing, due to mounting concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases and attendant escalation of extreme-wildfire risk factors. In addition, research suggests that the most vulnerable – women, children, elderly, disabled and the poor – suffer the worst ongoing damage from their wildfire exposure, echoing the acknowledged understanding of this same result as the common outcome from most disasters.

This chapter is part of UNEP's Frontiers 2022 report.