Wildfires

Primary reference(s)

FAO. 2024. Integrated Fire Management Voluntary Guidelines: Principles and strategic actions. Second Edition 2024. Fire Management Working Paper 41. Rome. DOI: 10.4060/cd1090en. Accessed 21 January 2025.

Annotations

Key relevant UN convention / multilateral treaty

The only regional legal agreement currently in place is the Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN, 2002).

Drivers

Unlike most geological and hydro-meteorological hazards, wildfires are primarily influenced by human actions and, to a degree, can be predicted, managed and prevented. Damaging wildfires are often symptomatic of past and present policy, planning and governance choices that have enabled ignition and fire spread across landscapes (Robinne et al., 2018).

Climate change influences wildfire behaviour through changes in weather, which affect vegetation growth and drying (rainfall, temperature, evapotranspiration). By the end of the century, the probability of extreme wildfire events is projected to increase by 31-57% (UNEP, 2022).

Vegetation stressed or killed by pests and disease may increase fuel load and ignition susceptibility. Conversely, wildfires can create vegetation stress that increases vulnerability to pest and disease outbreaks.

Fire is a natural ecological process, but changes to land use are contributing to wildfires. A significant number and area burned by human-caused fires are linked to land-use conversion and agricultural activities. Wildfires are a product of these processes and are partly a function of socio-economic decisions. Reducing the risks of wildfires requires policies and incentives that promote integrated fire management approaches. This includes land and fire management that is well designed, with a balanced combination of policies, a clear legal framework, and incentives that encourage appropriate land and fire use while meeting social, economic, health, and ecosystem needs.

Wildfire occurrence, characteristics, and impacts are closely associated with other hazards. Droughts, heatwaves, and high winds can intensify wildfire severity, size, and duration, complicating control efforts.

Impacts

Human health can be severely affected by wildfires. Certain populations are particularly vulnerable. Biomass smoke contains high levels of particulate matter and toxins. Respiratory morbidity predominates, and epidemiological studies have reported significant associations between wildfire smoke exposure and respiratory morbidity and mortality. Cardiovascular, ophthalmic, and psychiatric problems can also result (Fann et al., 2018), with links to both acute and chronic mental health conditions (Kibble et al., 2023). In addition, severe burns resulting from direct contact with the fire require care in specialised units and carry a risk of multi-organ complications. Access to affected areas and communication with populations living within them is crucial in mitigating risk (Finlay et al., 2012).  

Infrastructure and services, including power, water, communication lines, roads, and railways, are often damaged by wildfires. In addition to firefighting costs, there can be very large financial costs associated with rebuilding homes, businesses, and entire communities that have been damaged or destroyed by a major fire event, as well as broader economic impacts. 

The effects of wildfires on vegetation cover and soil stability may create secondary hazards or subsidiary perils, such as post-fire landslides, mudslides, flash floods, erosion, and siltation (triggered by post-fire rainfall on fire-disturbed surfaces) (Kibble et al., 2023). 

Fires burning on terrain contaminated by radioactivity may lead to uncontrolled redistribution of radioactive particles. Wildfires burning into residential and industrial areas and waste deposits may generate toxic pollutants. Fires burning on terrain containing unexploded ordnance and landmines could result in injuries and fatalities (Finlay et al., 2012).

Multi-hazard context

The figure below summarises common interactions between wildfires and other hazards. This information should be used with caution and not be solely relied upon in Disaster Risk Management, particularly as some interactions may not have been included. Note that hazardous events occurring together or locally in space or time may not necessarily cause, amplify, or be otherwise related to each other. Specific examples of multi-hazard context can be found in the ‘Hazard drivers’ and ‘Impacts’ sections above.

Multi-hazard diagram

Risk Management

Integrated fire management is key to adapting to current and future changes in global wildfire risk. It consists of five interlinked and often overlapping phases: review and analysis, risk reduction, readiness, response, and recovery (the 5Rs), which are applied and promoted by FAO and the World Bank in their approaches and project design. Notably, residual risks will remain, and planning for impacts and recovery is required for wildfires. 

Communities must be engaged meaningfully in planning, mitigating, and reducing the hazard on their landscape to reduce wildfire risk. This requires a shift in the social approach to living with fire and being prepared. There is growing recognition of the important role that Indigenous Peoples and local knowledge holders can play in informing land management practices that assist in the prevention and mitigation of wildfires. Importantly, this must include engagement to support and integrate Indigenous, traditional, and contemporary fire management practices into policy. 

An important element of integrated fire management is rebalancing investments from readiness and response towards proactive wildfire mitigation and management. Wildfire risk reduction activities represent a sound investment as they reduce the potential impacts of wildfires and, in the long term, are more cost-effective than response, recovery, and restoration following extreme events. 

Almost all disastrous wildfire events are associated with anomalous meteorological or climatic conditions (Bowman et al., 2017). To mitigate or prevent wildfire disasters, fire managers require early warning of extreme fire danger conditions. This allows time to implement fire prevention, detection, and pre-suppression preparedness action plans before disaster wildfires occur. Fire Danger Rating Systems are the cornerstone of fire management decision-making and are used with forecasted meteorological data to provide early warning of wildfire potential (de Groot et al., 2014). 

Monitoring

The section and the table below offer an overview of monitoring wildfires. This information can be used for forecasting within a national early warning system (EWS). Since EWS capacities and processes differ across countries, the most current and specific information regarding EWS should be obtained from the appropriate national or regional agency/authority responsible for disaster management.