Percentage Increase in Area Burned by Wildfires in the western US (IMAGE)

Harvard University

Percentage Increase in Area Burned by Wildfires in the western US

Caption

This graph shows the percentage increase in area burned by wildfires, from the present-day to the 2050s, as calculated by the model of Spracklen et al. [2009] for the May-October fire season. The model follows a scenario of moderately increasing emissions of greenhouse gas emissions and leads to average global warming of 1.6 oCelsius (3oFahrenheit ) by 2050. Warmer temperatures can dry out underbrush, leading to more serious conflagrations in the future climate.

Credit

Loretta Mickley, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

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