Editing Wildfire (section)

== Climate change effects ==
{{See also|Effects of climate change#Wildfires}}
{{multiple image
| total_width       = 450
| image1            = 1911- Wildfire disasters - worldwide.svg
| caption1          = Wildfire disasters have increased substantially in recent decades.<ref name=AlJazeera_CRED_20210819/> Climate change intensifies heatwaves and droughts that dry vegetation, which in turn fuels wildfires.<ref name=AlJazeera_CRED_20210819>{{cite news |last1=Haddad |first1=Mohammed |last2=Hussein |first2=Mohammed |title=Mapping wildfires around the world |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/19/mapping-wildfires-around-the-world-interactive |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=19 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819102412/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/19/mapping-wildfires-around-the-world-interactive |archive-date=19 August 2021 |url-status=live }} Data source: [[Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters]]. Wildfire disasters are those claiming at least 10 lives or affecting over 100 people.</ref>
| image2            = 1983- Canada wildfires - area burned annually.svg
| caption2          = The area that burned in the [[2023 Canadian wildfires]] was more than twice that of any year since 1983.<ref name=CIFFC_202310>{{cite web |title=Fire Statistics |url=https://ciffc.net/statistics |website=CIFFC.net |publisher=Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) |access-date=25 October 2023 |date=October 2023 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231025181718/https://ciffc.net/statistics |archive-date=25 October 2023 |url-status=live }} Cited by {{cite news |last1=Livingston |first1=Ian |title=Earth's climate shatters heat records. These 5 charts show how. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/10/24/climate-change-extremes-el-nino-global-warming/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=24 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231024103111/https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/10/24/climate-change-extremes-el-nino-global-warming/ |archive-date=24 October 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}
=== Increasing risks due to climate change ===
Climate change promotes the type of weather that makes wildfires more likely. In some areas, an increase of wildfires has been attributed directly to climate change.<ref name=":0" />{{rp|247}} Evidence from Earth's past also shows more fire in warmer periods.<ref name="Jones-2022">{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Matthew |last2=Smith |first2=Adam |last3=Betts |first3=Richard |last4=Canadell |first4=Josep |last5=Prentice |first5=Collin |last6=Le Quéré |first6=Corrine |title=Climate Change Increases the Risk of Wildfires |url=https://sciencebrief.org/briefs/wildfires |access-date=16 February 2022 |website=ScienceBrief |archive-date=26 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126143009/https://sciencebrief.org/briefs/wildfires }}</ref> Climate change increases [[evapotranspiration]]. This can cause vegetation and soils to dry out. When a fire starts in an area with very dry vegetation, it can spread rapidly. Higher temperatures can also lengthen the fire season. This is the time of year in which severe wildfires are most likely, particularly in regions where snow is disappearing.<ref name="Dunne-2020">{{Cite web |last=Dunne |first=Daisy |date=14 July 2020 |title=Explainer: How climate change is affecting wildfires around the world |url=https://www.carbonbrief.org/explainer-how-climate-change-is-affecting-wildfires-around-the-world |access-date=17 February 2022 |website=Carbon Brief |archive-date=19 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219142921/https://www.carbonbrief.org/explainer-how-climate-change-is-affecting-wildfires-around-the-world/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Weather conditions are raising the risks of wildfires. But the total area burnt by wildfires has decreased. This is mostly because [[savanna]] has been converted to [[Croplands|cropland]], so there are fewer trees to burn.<ref name="Dunne-2020" />

[[Climate variability]] including [[heat wave]]s, [[drought]]s, and [[El Niño]], and regional weather patterns, such as high-pressure ridges, can increase the risk and alter the behavior of wildfires dramatically.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/reports/billionz.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20010915155936/http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/reports/billionz.html | archive-date = 15 September 2001 | title = Chronological List of U.S. Billion Dollar Events | publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Satellite and Information Service | access-date = 4 February 2009 }}</ref><ref>McKenzie, ''et al.'', 893</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Provenzale|first1=Antonello|last2=Llasat|first2=Maria Carmen|last3=Montávez|first3=Juan Pedro|last4=Jerez|first4=Sonia|last5=Bedia|first5=Joaquín|last6=Rosa-Cánovas|first6=Juan José|last7=Turco|first7=Marco|date=2 October 2018|title=Exacerbated fires in Mediterranean Europe due to anthropogenic warming projected with non-stationary climate-fire models|journal=Nature Communications|language=en|volume=9|issue=1|page=3821|doi=10.1038/s41467-018-06358-z|pmid=30279564|pmc=6168540|issn=2041-1723|bibcode=2018NatCo...9.3821T}}</ref> Years of high precipitation can produce rapid vegetation growth, which when followed by warmer periods can encourage more widespread fires and longer fire seasons.<ref>Graham, ''et al''., 2</ref> High temperatures dry out the fuel loads and make them more flammable, increasing tree mortality and posing significant risks to global forest health.<ref name="Hartmann">{{cite journal |last1=Hartmann |first1=Henrik |last2=Bastos |first2=Ana |last3=Das |first3=Adrian J. |last4=Esquivel-Muelbert |first4=Adriane |last5=Hammond |first5=William M. |last6=Martínez-Vilalta |first6=Jordi |last7=McDowell |first7=Nate G. |last8=Powers |first8=Jennifer S. |last9=Pugh |first9=Thomas A.M. |last10=Ruthrof |first10=Katinka X. |last11=Allen |first11=Craig D. |title=Climate Change Risks to Global Forest Health: Emergence of Unexpected Events of Elevated Tree Mortality Worldwide |journal=Annual Review of Plant Biology |date=20 May 2022 |volume=73 |issue=1 |pages=673–702 |doi=10.1146/annurev-arplant-102820-012804 |pmid=35231182 |bibcode=2022ARPB...73..673H |osti=1876701 }}</ref><ref name="Brando">{{cite journal |last1=Brando |first1=Paulo M. |last2=Paolucci |first2=Lucas |last3=Ummenhofer |first3=Caroline C. |last4=Ordway |first4=Elsa M. |last5=Hartmann |first5=Henrik |last6=Cattau |first6=Megan E. |last7=Rattis |first7=Ludmila |last8=Medjibe |first8=Vincent |last9=Coe |first9=Michael T. |last10=Balch |first10=Jennifer |title=Droughts, Wildfires, and Forest Carbon Cycling: A Pantropical Synthesis |journal=Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences |date=30 May 2019 |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=555–581 |doi=10.1146/annurev-earth-082517-010235 |bibcode=2019AREPS..47..555B |s2cid=189975585 |language=en |issn=0084-6597|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Anuprash|date=28 January 2022|title=What Causes Wildfires? Understand The Science Here|url=https://www.techiwiki.info/post/what-causes-wildfires-understand-the-science-here|access-date=14 February 2022|website=TechiWiki|language=en|archive-date=14 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214182215/https://www.techiwiki.info/post/what-causes-wildfires-understand-the-science-here}}</ref> Since the mid-1980s, in the Western US, earlier snowmelt and associated warming has also been associated with an increase in length and severity of the wildfire season, or the most fire-prone time of the year.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.fs.fed.us/nwacfire/home/terminology.html#S|title= Fire Terminology|author= <!--Not stated-->|website= Fs.fed.us|access-date= 28 February 2019|archive-date= 7 July 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220707020545/https://www.fs.fed.us/nwacfire/home/terminology.html#S|url-status= live}}</ref> A 2019 study indicates that the increase in [[California fires|fire risk in California]] may be partially attributable to [[Man-made climate change|human-induced climate change]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Williams|first1=A. Park|last2=Abatzoglou|first2=John T.|last3=Gershunov|first3=Alexander|last4=Guzman-Morales|first4=Janin|last5=Bishop|first5=Daniel A.|last6=Balch|first6=Jennifer K.|last7=Lettenmaier|first7=Dennis P.|author7-link=Dennis P. Lettenmaier|date=2019|title=Observed Impacts of Anthropogenic Climate Change on Wildfire in California|journal=Earth's Future|language=en|volume=7|issue=8|pages=892–910|doi=10.1029/2019EF001210|bibcode=2019EaFut...7..892W|issn=2328-4277|doi-access=free}}</ref>

In the summer of 1974–1975 (southern hemisphere), [[Australia]] suffered its worst recorded wildfire, when 15% of Australia's land mass suffered "extensive fire damage".<ref name="abs1995">{{cite web|url=https://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/6C98BB75496A5AD1CA2569DE00267E48|title=Bushfires – An Integral Part of Australia's Environment|work=1301.0 – Year Book Australia, 1995|publisher=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]]|date=1 January 1995|author=Cheney, N.P.|access-date=14 January 2020|quote=In 1974–75 [...] in this season fires burnt over 117 million hectares or 15 per cent of the total land area of this continent.|archive-date=6 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230906100220/https://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/6C98BB75496A5AD1CA2569DE00267E48|url-status=live}}</ref> Fires that summer burned up an estimated {{convert|117|e6ha|e6acre km2 sqmi|abbr=off|lk=on}}.<ref name="AIDR">{{cite web |title=New South Wales, December 1974 Bushfire – New South Wales |url=https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/resources/bushfire-new-south-wales-1974/ |website=Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience |publisher=Government of Australia |access-date=13 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113201506/https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/resources/bushfire-new-south-wales-1974/ |archive-date=13 January 2020 |quote=Approximately 15 per cent of Australia's physical land mass sustained extensive fire damage. This equates to roughly around 117 million ha. |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Cole, Brendan|title=What Caused the Wildfires in Australia? Amid Worst Blazes for a Decade, 24 People are Charged with Arson|url=https://www.newsweek.com/australia-wildfires-arson-new-south-wales-police-1480733 |access-date=14 February 2020 |work=[[Newsweek]] |date=7 January 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200214151857/https://www.newsweek.com/australia-wildfires-arson-new-south-wales-police-1480733 |archive-date=14 February 2020 |quote=In 1974, 117 million hectares of land was burnt in wildfires in central Australia.}}</ref> In Australia, the annual number of hot days (above {{cvt|35|C|F|disp=or}}) and very hot days (above {{cvt|40|C|F|disp=or}}) has increased significantly in many areas of the country since 1950. The country has always had bushfires but in 2019, the extent and ferocity of these fires increased dramatically.<ref>[https://time.com/5735660/sydney-bushfires/ As Smoke From Bushfires Chokes Sydney, Australian Prime Minister Dodges on Climate Change] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202070427/https://time.com/5735660/sydney-bushfires/|date=2 December 2019}}, Time 21 November 2019.</ref> For the first time catastrophic bushfire conditions were declared for Greater Sydney. New South Wales and Queensland declared a state of emergency but fires were also burning in South Australia and Western Australia.<ref>[https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/not-normal-climate-change-bushfire-web/ The facts about bushfires and climate change] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216072021/https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/not-normal-climate-change-bushfire-web/|date=16 December 2019}}, Climate Council, 13 November 2019</ref>

In [[2019 in climate change|2019, extreme heat and dryness]] caused massive [[Wildfires in 2019|wildfires]] in [[2019 Siberia wildfires|Siberia]], [[Deshka Landing Fire|Alaska]], [[2019 Canary Islands wildfires|Canary Islands]], [[2019–20 Australian bushfire season|Australia]], and in the [[2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires|Amazon rainforest]]. The fires in the latter were caused mainly by [[Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest|illegal logging]]. The smoke from the fires expanded on huge territory including major cities, dramatically reducing air quality.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Irfan |first1=Umair |title=Wildfires are burning around the world. The most alarming is in the Amazon rainforest. |url=https://www.vox.com/world/2019/8/20/20813786/wildfire-amazon-rainforest-brazil-siberia |access-date=23 August 2019 |agency=Vox |date=21 August 2019 |archive-date=13 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913230057/https://www.vox.com/world/2019/8/20/20813786/wildfire-amazon-rainforest-brazil-siberia |url-status=live }}</ref>

As of August 2020, the [[Wildfires in 2020|wildfires in that year]] were 13% worse than in 2019 due primarily to [[climate change]], [[deforestation]] and agricultural burning. The [[Amazon rainforest]]'s existence is threatened by fires.<ref name="watching-earth-burn">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/28/opinion/climate-change-earth.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage |title=Opinion: Watching Earth Burn – For 10 days in September, satellites in orbit sent tragic evidence of climate change's destructive power. |first=Michael |last=Benson |newspaper=The New York Times |date=28 December 2020 |access-date=1 January 2021 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404182945/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/28/opinion/climate-change-earth.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://amazonwatch.org/news/2020/1210-resisting-another-record-breaking-year-of-deforestation-and-destruction-in-the-brazilian-amazon |title=Resisting Another Record-Breaking Year of Deforestation and Destruction in the Brazilian Amazon – While Brazilian authorities deny the impact of the criminal arson, Amazon Watch and our allies exposed and challenged the growing fires and deforestation in the Amazon |date=10 December 2020 |first=Ana Paula |last=Vargas |publisher=Amazon Watch |access-date=1 January 2021 |archive-date=12 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230912195753/https://amazonwatch.org/news/2020/1210-resisting-another-record-breaking-year-of-deforestation-and-destruction-in-the-brazilian-amazon |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Offensive against the Amazon: An incontrollable pandemic (commentary) |first1=Marcos |last1=Colón |first2=Luís |last2=de Camões Lima Boaventura |first3=Erik |last3=Jennings |date=1 June 2020 |url=https://news.mongabay.com/2020/06/offensive-against-the-amazon-an-incontrollable-pandemic-commentary/ |access-date=1 January 2021 |archive-date=10 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230610102720/https://news.mongabay.com/2020/06/offensive-against-the-amazon-an-incontrollable-pandemic-commentary/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/02/brazil-jair-bolsonaro-amazon-rainforest-protections |title=Jair Bolsonaro launches assault on Amazon rainforest protections – Executive order transfers regulation and creation of indigenous reserves to agriculture ministry controlled by agribusiness lobby |author=Dom Phillips |date=2 January 2019 |access-date=1 January 2021 |archive-date=26 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190426002549/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/02/brazil-jair-bolsonaro-amazon-rainforest-protections |url-status=live }}</ref> Record-breaking [[wildfires in 2021]] occurred in [[2021 Turkey wildfires|Turkey]], [[2021 Greece wildfires|Greece]] and [[2021 Russia wildfires|Russia]], thought to be linked to climate change.<ref>{{Cite news|date=11 August 2021|title=Wildfires: How are they linked to climate change?|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/58159451|access-date=6 October 2021|archive-date=12 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231012084749/https://www.bbc.com/news/58159451|url-status=live}}</ref>[[File:UC Irvine scientist James Randerson discusses new research linking ocean temperatures and fire seasons severity.ogv|thumb|Video to explain how increasing [[ocean temperature]]s are linked to fire-season severity.]]

=== Carbon dioxide and other emissions from fires ===
The carbon released from wildfires can add to greenhouse gas concentrations. [[Climate model]]s do not yet fully reflect this [[Climate change feedbacks|feedback]].<ref name="IPCC-2021">IPCC, 2021: [https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_SPM.pdf Summary for Policymakers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811205522/https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_SPM.pdf |date=11 August 2021 }}. In: [https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/ Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526182346/https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_Chapter09.pdf |date=26 May 2023 }} {{cite book |doi=10.1017/9781009157896.001 |chapter=Summary for Policymakers |title=Climate Change 2021 – the Physical Science Basis |date=2023 |pages=3–32 |isbn=978-1-009-15789-6 }}</ref>{{rp|20}}

Wildfires release large amounts of carbon dioxide, black and brown carbon particles, and ozone precursors such as [[volatile organic compound]]s and [[NOx|nitrogen oxides (NOx)]] into the atmosphere.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Spracklen|first1=Dominick V.|last2=Logan|first2=Jennifer A.|author-link2=Jennifer Logan|last3=Mickley|first3=Loretta J.|last4=Park|first4=Rokjin J.|last5=Yevich|first5=Rosemarie|last6=Westerling|first6=Anthony L.|last7=Jaffe|first7=Dan A.|date=2007|title=Wildfires drive interannual variability of organic carbon aerosol in the western U.S. in summer|journal=Geophysical Research Letters|language=en|volume=34|issue=16|doi=10.1029/2007GL030037|bibcode=2007GeoRL..3416816S|s2cid=5642896|issn=1944-8007|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wofsy |first1=S. C. |last2=Sachse |first2=G. W. |last3=Gregory |first3=G. L. |last4=Blake |first4=D. R. |last5=Bradshaw |first5=J. D. |last6=Sandholm |first6=S. T. |last7=Singh |first7=H. B. |last8=Barrick |first8=J. A. |last9=Harriss |first9=R. C. |last10=Talbot |first10=R. W. |last11=Shipham |first11=M. A. |last12=Browell |first12=E. V. |last13=Jacob |first13=D. J. |last14=Logan |first14=J. A. |title=Atmospheric chemistry in the Arctic and subarctic: Influence of natural fires, industrial emissions, and stratospheric inputs |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres |date=30 October 1992 |volume=97 |issue=D15 |pages=16731–16746 |doi=10.1029/92JD00622 |bibcode=1992JGR....9716731W |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/500382zz }}</ref> These emissions affect radiation, clouds, and climate on regional and even global scales.<ref name=dangelo2022 /> Wildfires also emit substantial amounts of semi-volatile organic species that can partition from the gas phase to form [[secondary organic aerosol]] (SOA) over hours to days after emission. In addition, the formation of the other pollutants as the air is transported can lead to harmful exposures for populations in regions far away from the wildfires.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/csd/factsheets/csdWildfiresFIREX.pdf|title=The Impact of Wildfires on Climate and Air Quality|website=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|access-date=21 February 2020|archive-date=2 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602215528/https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/csd/factsheets/csdWildfiresFIREX.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=dangelo2022 /> While direct emissions of harmful pollutants can affect first responders and residents, wildfire smoke can also be transported over long distances and impact air quality across local, regional, and global scales.<ref>{{Cite web|last=US EPA|first=ORD|date=30 March 2017|title=Wildland Fire Research: Health Effects Research|url=https://www.epa.gov/air-research/wildland-fire-research-health-effects-research|access-date=28 November 2020|website=US EPA|language=en|archive-date=2 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502201707/https://www.epa.gov/air-research/wildland-fire-research-health-effects-research|url-status=live}}</ref>[[File:The_Rim_Fire_in_the_Stanislaus_National_Forest_near_in_California_began_on_Aug._17,_2013-0004.jpg|thumb|Wildfire near [[Yosemite National Park]], United States, in 2013. The [[Rim Fire]] burned more than {{convert|250,000|acres|km2}} of forest.]]The health effects of wildfire smoke, such as worsening [[Circulatory system|cardiovascular]] and respiratory conditions, extend beyond immediate exposure, contributing to nearly 16,000 annual deaths, a number expected to rise to 30,000 by 2050. The economic impact is also significant, with projected costs reaching $240 billion annually by 2050, surpassing other climate-related damages.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Borunda |first=Alejandra |date=18 April 2024 |title=Wildfire smoke contributes to thousands of deaths each year in the U.S. |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/04/18/1245068810/wildfire-smoke-contributes-to-thousands-of-deaths-each-year-in-the-u-s |access-date=27 April 2024 |website=www.npr.org |archive-date=23 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240423235910/https://www.npr.org/2024/04/18/1245068810/wildfire-smoke-contributes-to-thousands-of-deaths-each-year-in-the-u-s |url-status=live }}</ref>

Over the past century, wildfires have accounted for 20–25% of global carbon emissions, the remainder from human activities.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-fire-emissions/ |publisher=[[Bloomberg L.P.|Bloomberg]] |title=Measuring the Carbon-Dioxide Cost of Last Year's Worldwide Wildfires |author1=Laura Millan Lombrana |author2=Hayley Warren |author3=Akshat Rathi |date=10 February 2020 |access-date=1 January 2021 |archive-date=28 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128174413/https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-fire-emissions/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Global carbon emissions from wildfires through August 2020 equaled the average annual emissions of the [[European Union]].<ref name="global-carbon-fire-2019">{{cite news |last1=Boyle |first1=Louise |date=27 August 2020 |title=Global fires are up 13% from 2019's record-breaking numbers |agency=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-crisis-fires-global-heating-amazon-california-eu-a9690146.html |access-date=8 September 2020 |archive-date=14 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114222322/https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-crisis-fires-global-heating-amazon-california-eu-a9690146.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2020, the carbon released by California's wildfires was significantly larger than the state's other carbon emissions.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.mongabay.com/2020/09/off-the-chart-co2-from-california-fires-dwarf-states-fossil-fuel-emissions/ |publisher=Mongabay |title='Off the chart': CO2 from California fires dwarf state's fossil fuel emissions |first=Elizabeth Claire |last=Alberts |date=18 September 2020 |access-date=1 January 2021 |archive-date=30 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630232806/https://news.mongabay.com/2020/09/off-the-chart-co2-from-california-fires-dwarf-states-fossil-fuel-emissions/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Forest fires in Indonesia in 1997 were estimated to have released between 0.81 and 2.57&nbsp;gigatonnes (0.89 and 2.83&nbsp;billion [[short ton]]s) of CO<sub>2</sub> into the atmosphere, which is between 13–40% of the annual global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Page |first=Susan E. |author2=Florian Siegert |author3=John O. Rieley |author4=Hans-Dieter V. Boehm |author5=Adi Jaya |author6=Suwido Limin |name-list-style=amp |date=11 July 2002 |title=The amount of carbon released from peat and forest fires in Indonesia during 1997 |journal=Nature |volume=420 |issue=6911 |pages=61–65 |bibcode=2002Natur.420...61P |doi=10.1038/nature01131 |pmid=12422213 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Tacconi |first=Luca |date=February 2003 |title=Fires in Indonesia: Causes, Costs, and Policy Implications (CIFOR Occasional Paper No. 38) |url=http://www.cifor.cgiar.org/publications/pdf_files/OccPapers/OP-038.pdf |journal=Occasional Paper |publisher=Center for International Forestry Research |issn=0854-9818 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226080558/http://www.cifor.cgiar.org/publications/pdf_files/OccPapers/OP-038.pdf |archive-date=26 February 2009 |access-date=6 February 2009 |place=Bogor, Indonesia }}</ref>

In June and July 2019, fires in the Arctic emitted more than 140 megatons of carbon dioxide, according to an analysis by CAMS. To put that into perspective this amounts to the same amount of carbon emitted by 36 million cars in a year. The recent wildfires and their massive CO<sub>2</sub> emissions mean that it will be important to take them into consideration when implementing measures for reaching greenhouse gas reduction targets accorded with the [[Paris climate agreement]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bassetti |first=Francesco |date=31 August 2019 |title=The Effects of Wildfires on a Zero Carbon Future |url=https://www.climateforesight.eu/future-earth/the-effects-of-wildfires-on-a-zero-carbon-future/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128165555/https://www.climateforesight.eu/future-earth/the-effects-of-wildfires-on-a-zero-carbon-future/ |archive-date=28 November 2020 |access-date=16 November 2020}}</ref> Due to the complex oxidative chemistry occurring during the transport of wildfire smoke in the atmosphere,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rana |first1=Md. Sohel |last2=Guzman |first2=Marcelo I. |date=22 October 2020 |title=Oxidation of Phenolic Aldehydes by Ozone and Hydroxyl Radicals at the Air–Water Interface |journal=The Journal of Physical Chemistry A |volume=124 |issue=42 |pages=8822–8833 |bibcode=2020JPCA..124.8822R |doi=10.1021/acs.jpca.0c05944 |issn=1089-5639 |pmid=32931271 |doi-access=free}}</ref> the toxicity of emissions was indicated to increase over time.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 October 2020 |title=Wildfire Smoke Toxicity Increases Over Time, Poses Public Health Risk, According to UK Chemist |url=https://uknow.uky.edu/research/wildfire-smoke-toxicity-increases-over-time-poses-public-health-risk-according-uk-chemist |access-date=31 October 2020 |website=UKNow |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404065812/https://uknow.uky.edu/research/wildfire-smoke-toxicity-increases-over-time-poses-public-health-risk-according-uk-chemist |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=As smoke from forest fires ages in the atmosphere its toxicity increases |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-10-forest-ages-atmosphere-toxicity.html |access-date=31 October 2020 |website=phys.org |language=en |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404014637/https://phys.org/news/2020-10-forest-ages-atmosphere-toxicity.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Atmospheric models suggest that these concentrations of sooty particles could increase absorption of incoming [[solar radiation]] during winter months by as much as 15%.<ref>{{cite conference |author=Baumgardner, D. |display-authors=etal |date=2003 |title=Warming of the Arctic lower stratosphere by light absorbing particles |book-title=American Geophysical Union fall meeting |place=San Francisco, California}}</ref> The Amazon is estimated to hold around 90 billion tons of carbon. As of 2019, the earth's atmosphere has 415 parts per million of carbon, and the destruction of the Amazon would add about 38 parts per million.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mufson |first=Steven |title=What you need to know about the Amazon rainforest fires |newspaper=Washington post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-amazon-rainforest-fires/2019/08/27/ac82b21e-c815-11e9-a4f3-c081a126de70_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827182809/https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-amazon-rainforest-fires/2019/08/27/ac82b21e-c815-11e9-a4f3-c081a126de70_story.html |archive-date=27 August 2019}}</ref>

Some research has shown wildfire smoke can have a cooling effect.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Wildfire smoke cools summer river and stream water temperatures |url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/57160 |journal=Water Resources Research |date=2018 |doi=10.1029/2018WR022964 |last1=David |first1=Aaron T. |last2=Asarian |first2=J. Eli |last3=Lake |first3=Frank K. |volume=54 |issue=10 |pages=7273–7290 |bibcode=2018WRR....54.7273D |doi-access=free |access-date=26 July 2023 |archive-date=26 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230726231753/https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/57160 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=How Extreme Weather can Cool the Planet |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/how-extreme-fire-weather-can-cool-the-planet |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806143520/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/how-extreme-fire-weather-can-cool-the-planet |archive-date=6 August 2021 |website=National Geographic|date=6 August 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Significant Effective Radiative Forcing of Stratospheric Wildfire Smoke |journal=Geophysical Research Letters|year=2022 |doi=10.1029/2022GL100175 |last1=Liu |first1=Cheng-Cheng |last2=Portmann |first2=Robert W. |last3=Liu |first3=Shang |last4=Rosenlof |first4=Karen H. |last5=Peng |first5=Yifeng |last6=Yu |first6=Pengfei |volume=49 |issue=17 |bibcode=2022GeoRL..4900175L |s2cid=252148515 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Research in 2007 stated that black carbon in snow changed temperature three times more than atmospheric carbon dioxide. As much as 94 percent of Arctic warming may be caused by dark carbon on snow that initiates melting. The dark carbon comes from fossil fuels burning, wood and other biofuels, and forest fires. Melting can occur even at low concentrations of dark carbon (below five parts per billion).<ref name="Biello 2007 m566">{{cite web | last=Biello | first=David | title=Impure as the Driven Snow | website=Scientific American | date=8 June 2007 | url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/impure-as-the-driven-snow/ | access-date=7 November 2023 | archive-date=7 November 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107222307/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/impure-as-the-driven-snow/ | url-status=live }}</ref>