Global Wildfire Dynamics: Temporal and Spatial Trends, Hotspots, and Climate Change Impacts

Forest fires have become a hot topic in recent years. Fires are one of the most dangerous natural threats, posing significant risks to the safety of humans, properties, and the environment. The number of wildfires will continue to increase in the coming years, mainly due to climate change. This research employs Python code to investigate the spatial-temporal patterns of burned areas, fire occurrence locations, and fire intensity across global regions from ۱۹۰۱ to ۲۰۱۷, with a focus on identifying trends and distribution of fire activity. To this end, the sets of reference regions outlined in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR۶) Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Adaptation (SREX) were utilized for a regional analysis of observed climate and climate change information. The results indicate significant variability in the annual area burned across the American, European, Asian, and Australasian regions. The annual burned area for the American region demonstrated the Western United States and the Amazon rainforest as major hotspots of fire activity. The spatial distribution of fire activity revealed the Mediterranean, parts of Africa, Southeast Asia, and Australia as regions with high fire activity. Southeast Asia demonstrated consistently greater burned area percentages, varying from ۲% to ۵% with some years reaching a maximum of ۷%. The temporal distribution analysis of global fire activity exhibited the Northern Hemisphere experiences peak fire activity during the June to August months, while the Southern Hemisphere shows higher fire activity in the corresponding December to February months. This study highlights the critical impact of climate change on fire regimes and the necessity for strategic planning in fire management and mitigation.

کلیدواژه ها:

Forest fires ، Climate change ، IPCC AR۶ ، Burned area ، Fire management