A recently published study strengthens the link between the climate crisis and the major fires of recent years.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of California, shows that climate change is the leading cause of the huge fires that have erupted in the past two decades in the western United States.
The study addresses the question of what caused the dramatic increase in the number of fires and examines whether this is an impact of climate change or simply a natural change in weather patterns.
According to the results of the study, 68% of the increase in VPD levels (a figure that affects the risk of fires) between the years 1979-2020 is due to climate change, while the rest is due to natural changes in weather patterns.
That is, most fires are caused as a result of climate change and changes in humidity levels in the air.
Reminder: Burning California - Hundreds of fires across the state // Photo: Reuters
"The results of the study suggest that the western United States has apparently passed a critical threshold, and that global warming has a greater impact on rising steam pressure deficits than the impact of natural atmospheric changes," said Rong Fu, one of the study's authors and a professor of atmospheric science.
"Our analysis shows that this change occurred in the early 21st century, much earlier than we expected."
The researchers used artificial intelligence and climate and fire data to determine the impact of climate change on the VPD or in free translation "air vapor pressure deficit", and it is a key variable affecting fire risk.
The VPD basically refers to the gap between the amount of moisture that is in the air and the amount of moisture that the air can contain or hold.
When the amount of moisture is present at the present time, the air can actually pump additional moisture from the soil and plants.
Large fire areas tend to have higher levels of VPD.
California fires // Photo: Reuters,
Although the study dealt with the western United States, it can largely indicate fires in other parts of the world as well.
In the past year, many fires have hit the globe, most notably in Turkey and Greece, southern France and Algeria.
The results of the current study are particularly important and they actually "divert the fire" from other factors that some prefer to focus on towards the main factor - climate change.
Current research points to a direct link and proves that most fires are indeed the result of global warming.
According to the European Space Agency, fires in recent years have affected more than four million kilometers, an area similar in size to the territory of India, and this figure is growing year by year.
The wave of fires that hit Australia in late 2019 and early 2020 killed about 3 billion animals.
And the area burned only by this wave is equal in size to the territory of Great Britain.
"I fear that the peak of the fires is still ahead of us, and the extreme events we have seen in recent years are just the beginning," added researcher Poe.
"We are not prepared for these changes and their impact on the fires in the western United States."
