New study reveals record-breaking events, shifting patterns in global wildfires

SACRAMENTO, the United States, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) — Fueled by climate change and human activities, a devastating series of wildfires in the 2023-2024 fire season shattered records for burned areas and carbon emissions across the globe, leaving a lasting impact on ecosystems, air quality, and communities, according to a new study.
In a year marked with extreme weather events, the 2023-2024 global fire season saw unprecedented wildfire activity in several regions, such as record-breaking fire extent and emissions in Canada and deadly fires in Hawaii, according to the inaugural State of Wildfires 2023-2024 report, published on Tuesday by the international journal Earth System Science Data.
Approximately 3.9 million square kilometers burned globally during the 2023-2024 fire season, ranking the 12th among fire seasons since 2002. Despite the lower-than-average burned area, fire carbon emissions were 16 percent above average and ranking the seventh highest since 2003, according to the study authored by more than 40 researchers across the world.
The report revealed that “the most prominent global anomaly” occurred in Canada, which experienced its worst fire season on record during the study period. The country’s burned areas reached six times the average of previous fire seasons and fire carbon emissions reached nine times the average.
More than 150,000 square kilometers burned across Canada, prompting evacuations of 232,000 people and resulting in eight firefighter fatalities during the 2023-2024 fire season. The Canadian torched forests contributed 24 percent of global fire carbon emissions in the period, up from an average of 3 percent in previous years.
Canada’s extreme fire activity, which led to severe air quality issues, required an unprecedented 120 days of national preparedness. This underscored the significant resource sharing and international assistance needed to manage such crises, the researchers said.
The fires in Canada also had a global impact, affecting air quality in major cities across North America, including New York City, which experienced its worst air quality in half a century.
While Canada grappled with record-breaking fires, the United States saw generally below-average fire activity. However, the country still experienced significant events, including the Lahaina wildfire in Maui, Hawaii, which resulted in more than 100 civilian deaths, destroyed 2,000 homes, and displaced 10,000 people, making it one of the deadliest wildfires in U.S. history.
The fire season in the United States took a dramatic turn in February 2024, breaking the pattern of below-average activity.
Texas recorded its largest ever single fire, Smokehouse Creek fire, at over 4,000 square kilometers in late February and early March, which destroyed 130 homes across the High Plains region of the central United States, according to the report. This event resulted in two civilian fatalities in the relatively rural area dominated by ranching, with over 10,000 head of cattle lost.
The report also highlighted long-term trends in U.S. fire activity. Significant increases in both total and forest-burned areas have been observed in some western states since 2002.
Europe had low fire extent, except for Greece’s record-breaking Evros fire and its second-worst fire season in terms of area burned. In Oceania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory saw above-average fire activity in savannas, grasslands, and shrublands.
While many regions in the world are experiencing declines in total burned area, increases in forest burned area are far more prevalent. Northern hemispheric extratropical biomes in North America and Asia have shown a clear signal towards increased forest burned area since 2002, the report said.
Climate change is a major driver of increased fire activity in many regions. The report found that “anthropogenic forcing increased the chance of high fire weather in 2023” in Canada, Greece and western Amazonia.
The report projected an increased likelihood of extreme fire events under various climate scenarios. Canada’s likelihood of experiencing burned area extent similar to June 2023 is expected to increase from 0.15 percent annually in the 2010s to 0.42 percent to 2.2 percent by the 2040s across scenarios. Under a high emissions scenario, this likelihood could reach 2.1 percent to 3.7 percent by the 2090s. ■