--- title: Climate Change Wildfires: How Global Warming Affects Wildfires description: Increasingly hot and dry climates, the result of global climate change, have led to a worsening of wildfires around the world. canonical: https://time.com/3959260/climate-change-wildfires/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-15T19:28:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:41:23.240Z article:section: Science og:title: How Climate Change Is Making Wildfires Worse og:description: Increasingly hot and dry climates, the result of global climate change, have led to a worsening of wildfires around the world. og:url: https://time.com/3959260/climate-change-wildfires/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8bd9b4bc823ed5a5/69885b0935ba6ff6fcc0e324/wildfire.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3449 og:image:height: 1940 og:image:alt: Wildfire og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Climate Change Is Making Wildfires Worse twitter:description: Increasingly hot and dry climates, the result of global climate change, have led to a worsening of wildfires around the world. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8bd9b4bc823ed5a5/69885b0935ba6ff6fcc0e324/wildfire.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Climate Change Is Making Wildfires Worse > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. Senior correspondent Justin Worland goes beyond traditional climate coverage to connect the energy transition to the bigger decisions reshaping companies, markets and society. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: 8,000 Firefighters Trying To Control California Flames [Watch (HLS stream): 8,000 Firefighters Trying To Control California Flames](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4NbNKD8Z.m3u8) (0:44)  _Published 2015-08-01. Fires are burning across the state, and weather conditions could make the situation worse._  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jul 15, 2015 7:28 PM UTC  Wildfire Wildfire Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jul 15, 2015 7:28 PM UTC Increasingly hot and dry climates, the result of global climate change, have led to a worsening of wildfires around the world, according to new research. In turn, wildfires are aggravating climate change by killing trees that could absorb carbon in the atmosphere. The [study](http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/150714/ncomms8537/full/ncomms8537.html#affil-auth), published in the journal _Nature Communications_, finds that fire season has gotten longer for more than quarter of the Earth’s vegetated surface from 1979 to 2013\. Overall, across the globe, fire weather season increased by nearly 19%. The trend occurred on all continents where wildfires occur except Australia. “Wildfires occur at the intersection of dry weather, available fuel and ignition sources,” the study authors write. “Weather is the most variable and largest driver of regional burned area.” **Read More:** [How the California Drought Is Increasing the Potential for Devastating Wildfires](http://time.com/3849320/california-drought-wildfires/) South America has faced one of the most dramatic increases in wildfire numbers and intensity, according to the study. Forests in the region have seen their fire season increase by an average of 33 days. Fires threaten to worsen the deforestation that has already destroyed much of the region’s forest land. And if the loss of forests wasn’t bad enough, worsening wildfires caused by climate change create a feedback loop, the authors note. Forest fires decrease the number of trees that can absorb the carbon that causes climate change in the first place. “When average fire weather seasons are longer-than-normal or when long seasons impacted more global burnable area, net global terrestrial carbon uptake is reduced,” the authors write. ### The Most Beautiful Wildfire Photos You'll Ever See  The Meadow Fire burns overnight near Half Dome in Yosemite National Park early Monday September 8, 2014\. As of Wednesday the fire had burned over 4,500 acres and was 10% contained. Stuart Palley  The Meadow Fire burns at dawn near Half Dome in Yosemite National Park early Monday September 8, 2014\. As of Wednesday the fire had burned over 4,500 acres and was 10% contained. Stuart Palley  The Meadow Fire burns overnight near Half Dome in Yosemite National Park early Monday September 8, 2014\. As of Wednesday the fire had burned over 4,500 acres and was 10% contained. Stuart Palley  The Meadow Fire burns overnight near Half Dome in Yosemite National Park early Monday September 8, 2014\. As of Wednesday the fire had burned over 4,500 acres and was 10% contained. Stuart Palley  The Meadow Fire burns at dawn near Half Dome in Yosemite National Park early Monday September 8, 2014\. As of Wednesday the fire had burned over 4,500 acres and was 10% contained. Stuart Palley  The Meadow Fire burns at dawn near Half Dome in Yosemite National Park early Monday September 8, 2014 as rain moves in from the south. As of Wednesday the fire had burned over 4,500 acres and was 10% contained. Stuart Palley  The Meadow Fire burns overnight near Half Dome in Yosemite National Park early Monday September 8, 2014\. As of Wednesday the fire had burned over 4,500 acres and was 10% contained. Stuart Palley  The Meadow Fire burns at dawn near Half Dome in Yosemite National Park early Monday September 8, 2014\. As of Wednesday the fire had burned over 4,500 acres and was 10% contained. Stuart Palley  The Meadow Fire burns overnight near Half Dome in Yosemite National Park early Monday September 8, 2014\. As of Wednesday the fire had burned over 4,500 acres and was 10% contained. Stuart Palley  The Meadow Fire burns at dawn near Half Dome in Yosemite National Park early Monday September 8, 2014\. As of Wednesday the fire had burned over 4,500 acres and was 10% contained. Stuart Palley ## Transcript California is in a state of emergency as wild fires continue to burn across the draught stricken state. At least 23 large fires were reported in California by the state's Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. 8, 000 firefighters have been called in to battle the flames. A U. S. 4 service firefighter from the Black Hills in South Dakota was found dead after he went missing in the line of duty. And hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes. Despite the increases in fires this year, fire officials have told reporters the total number of acres burned Has actually been lower due to swift responses from firefighters and forgiving weather. Many of the fires are believed to have been sparked by lightening and California officials warn, even more dry thunderstorms are expected in the coming days. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3959260/climate-change-wildfires/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3959260/climate-change-wildfires/"},"headline":"How Climate Change Is Making Wildfires Worse","datePublished":"2015-07-15T19:28:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:41:23.240Z","description":"In a vicious cycle, wildfires are also making climate change worse, a study finds","url":"https://time.com/3959260/climate-change-wildfires/","keywords":["climate change","global warming","Wildfires","Deforestation"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8bd9b4bc823ed5a5/69885b0935ba6ff6fcc0e324/wildfire.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8bd9b4bc823ed5a5/69885b0935ba6ff6fcc0e324/wildfire.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Wildfire","caption":"Wildfire","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/climate-change/","name":"climate change"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3959260/climate-change-wildfires/","name":"How Climate Change Is Making Wildfires Worse"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"8,000 Firefighters Trying To Control California Flames","description":"Fires are burning across the state, and weather conditions could make the situation worse.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/4NbNKD8Z/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-08-01T15:57:01.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4NbNKD8Z.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3959260/climate-change-wildfires/","duration":"PT44S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3959260/climate-change-wildfires/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```