Wildfires Are The Earth’s Way Of Telling Us To Change Our Behavior — Or Else

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Changes in the Earth’s climate can be measured by satellites and sensors in the ocean, but they are hard for ordinary people to visualize — which makes them easy to ignore. Wildfires, on the other hand, do a splendid job of focusing our attention on the situation. Here is a visual created by Greenpeace with a message that is crystal clear:

And yet, despite the visible evidence, many reportedly sane people refuse to acknowledge what is happening. Lloyd Alter, the Sage of Toronto and tireless climate advocate, wrote in his “Carbon Upfront” post on Substack for August 3 that after a recent social media post about Canadian wildfires, half of the comments pooh poohed the message in one of three ways:

• The fires are not unusual — nothing to see here, move along!
• The fires were started by the government to scare people about climate change so it can “take away our cars and our freedom.”
• El Niño has nothing to do with climate change, which doesn’t exist anyway.

On a personal note, I have heard from friends in Canada that the fires were set by Indigenous people. Although, why they would do so was not made clear. Our capacity for self-delusion is unlimited, apparently.

The latest thinking is that climate change is having an impact on wildfires in two ways. According to Bloomberg, scientists say changes in weather patterns have disrupted “normal” cycles of rain and heat. Hotter air holds more moisture, which leads to heavier rainfall. The rain, in turn, promotes lush undergrowth in forests. But then an unusually dry season follows and that lush undergrowth shrivels and becomes what professional firefighters call an accelerant. If you think that is like an arsonist pouring gasoline around before lighting a match, you get it!

What Scientists Say

According to the National Centre For Atmospheric Science (NCAS) in the UK:

Wildfires are a natural part of many ecosystems, but human-driven climate change (primarily caused by burning fossil fuels) is making large and severe fires more likely. Higher temperatures, changes in rainfall patterns, and more frequent heatwaves can dry out vegetation and soils, creating landscapes that are more susceptible to burning.

The two-way relationship between wildfires and climate change is complex. Climate change can increase wildfire risk, but wildfires can also contribute to climate change by releasing greenhouse gases and other pollutants into the atmosphere and by triggering vegetation changes. This creates a feedback loop in which warmer conditions increase the likelihood of fires, and fires in turn contribute to further warming. [Emphasis added.]

Forests, peatlands, and other carbon-rich ecosystems store vast amounts of carbon in their vegetation and soils. When these ecosystems burn, some of that stored carbon is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and methane, contributing to climate change.

Forest Vs. Grassland Fires

The climate impact of wildfires is driven largely by forest fires because forests contain such substantial carbon stocks. As global temperatures rise and precipitation patterns shift, forest fires are becoming more frequent and widespread, increasing the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere.

The total area of land burnt annually is actually dominated by grassland fires, and the area burnt each year has been decreasing because of land use changes in Africa. Grassland fires release significant amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, but much of the ecosystem’s carbon remains safely stored underground in roots and soils. When a fire sweeps through, it primarily burns above-ground vegetation.

In healthy ecosystems, much of this carbon can eventually be reabsorbed as vegetation regrows following a fire or in the next growing season. This is part of the natural fire-recovery cycle. However, where fires become more frequent, more severe, or are followed by land-use change, recovery can be slow or incomplete. In these cases, carbon that was previously stored on land can remain in the atmosphere for decades or longer, contributing to climate change.

Black Carbon

Wildfires also release large quantities of aerosol particles. One of the most important of these is black carbon. Black carbon absorbs sunlight and can cause short-term warming of the atmosphere. When deposited on snow and ice, it darkens the surface, causing it to absorb more solar radiation and melt more quickly.

Wildfire emissions can influence regions far from the original fire. For example, wildfires in eastern Siberia have contributed to elevated levels of black carbon in the Arctic, and smoke from fires in the Amazon has been linked to decreased albedo and increased melting of glaciers in South America. These impacts demonstrate how wildfire emissions can affect climate processes on regional and global scales.

The impacts of wildfires extend beyond greenhouse gas emissions alone. Smoke particles interact with sunlight and clouds, affecting atmospheric chemistry and weather patterns. Quantifying the effects of wildfires on the climate remains challenging because the amount and composition of emissions vary considerably depending on the type of vegetation burning, fuel conditions, fire behaviour, and weather conditions.

The Role Of Research

As wildfires become more frequent and severe in a warming climate, understanding their long-term impacts is increasingly important. Scientists are working to improve estimates of wildfire emissions, understand how wildfire smoke interacts with the atmosphere, and assess how changing fire regimes may influence future climate.

Understanding these interconnected processes is essential for informing climate mitigation, adaptation and environmental risk management. As climate change continues to alter fire-prone regions around the world, evidence based approaches will be critical for reducing risks and building resilience to future wildfire events.

Other Pollutants

In a separate report, NCAS says: “Wildfires can endanger lives and cause extensive damage to ecosystems, property and livelihoods. They also have significant impacts on air quality. Wildfire smoke contains a mixture of hazardous air pollutants, including fine particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds.

“People living close to a fire, as well as emergency responders, can be directly exposed to these pollutants. However, the effects can extend far beyond the immediate area, as smoke and pollutants can be transported by the wind across entire regions, impacting people many miles away.

“In addition to their impacts on health and the environment, wildfires can also influence the climate on regional and even global scales. Fires release large quantities of carbon dioxide, organic and black carbon, and ozone precursors into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change and affecting atmospheric chemistry.”

So not only are changes in the climate making wildfires more likely; those fires are making the air more toxic to humans and other creatures with lungs. It’s a double whammy with global implications. Janis Joplin taught us that “freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” Addressing alterations in the Earth’s climate is not about taking away people’s freedom; it is about keeping people alive, which when you think about it, is the ultimate freedom.