Heat waves increase wildfire risk – a new study explains how much, and it’s not a small number

Heat waves significantly increase wildfire risk, new study finds

Looking across 23 years of wildfire activity, researchers found that 42% of areas burned by wildfires occurred during or right after a heat wave. The post Heat waves significantly increase wildfire risk, new study finds appeared first on Innovation News Network.

Heat waves increase wildfire risk – a new study explains how much, and it’s not a small number

by Dmitri Kalashnikov, University of California, Merced; Cong Yin, University of California, Merced; Madhulika Gurazada, University of California, Merced, and Mukesh Kumar, University of California, Merced, [This article first appeared in The Conversation, republished with permission] When heat waves hit the Western United States, the risk of wildfires quickly rises. The prolonged heat dries out vegetation, but that’s only part of the cause – he…