Human activity more than doubles fire occurrence in the arctic, researchers find

Research finds that fires in the Arctic break out two and a half times more often in areas with human activity than in similar areas without it, raising questions about how industrial expansion is shaping fire risk in the region

Researchers have found that fires have occurred 2.5 times more often in Arctic areas affected by human activity than in climatically similar unlit regions.

Fires aren’t the usual issue that comes to mind when you think of the arctic. The assumption tends to be that it’s the rising temperatures and drought doing the damage.

And they are – but according to a new pan-Arctic study led by the University of Zurich, fires haven’t been getting enough attention.

The team looked at fire occurrence across the Arctic between 2001 and 2013 and compared it with satellite data showing artificial light at night, which they used where people are actually present – settlements, roads, industrial sites, oil and gas operations, mining.

What they found was that fires occurred 2.5 times more often in lit areas than in climatically similar places without any artificial light.

Not just a local problem

The closer you got to areas of human activity, the higher the fire occurrence was, according to lead author Cengiz Akandil, a postdoctoral researcher at UZH.

Akandil was careful to say this didn’t mean human activity was the only driver – temperature, moisture and drought conditions are still major factors. But the data suggests that industrial expansion and settlement in the Arctic is playing a much bigger role

Original Record.

This archived record authored by ‘Lee Bell’ at ‘METEORED (Your Weather)’ was recovered from data set:

https://www.yourweather.co.uk/news/science/human-activity-more-than-doubles-fire-occurrence-in-the-arctic-researchers-find.html