Towards a comprehensive look at global drivers of novel extreme wildfire events

Extreme wildfire events in recent years are shaking our established knowledge of how fire regimes respond to climate variables and how societies need to react to fire impacts. Albeit fires are stochastic and extreme in nature, the speed, intensity, and extension of new extreme fires that have occurred during the last years are unprecedented. Here, we identify common features of these emerging novel extreme wildfire events characterized by very high fire intensity and rapid rates of spread, and we review the major mechanisms behind their occurrence. We then point to the major challenges that extreme wildfire events pose to science and societies worldwide, both today and in the future. Climate change and other factors are contributing to more flammable landscapes and the promotion of unstable atmospheric conditions that ultimately promote wildfire development. Anticipating these novel conditions is a key scientific challenge with paramount implications for present and future fire management, ecosystems, and human well-being.

Automated summary

Recent extreme wildfire events have posed unprecedented challenges to both science and societies worldwide. Factors such as climate change are contributing to more flammable landscapes, emphasizing the importance of predicting and adapting to these novel conditions in order to manage future fire impacts effectively.