Human-induced climate change intensifies spatially compounding fire weather extremes across European countries

This study examines how human-induced climate change is intensifying spatially compounding fire weather extremes across Europe, increasing the likelihood of large-scale wildfires that affect multiple countries simultaneously. They analyse spatially compounding fire danger by combining burned area observations (2001–2015), ERA5-based Fire Weather Index data (1950–2024), and CMIP6 climate simulations.

The study finds that rising temperatures and declining relative humidity are the main drivers of this growing risk, with human-induced climate change contributing to a significant expansion in the spatial extent of extreme fire weather.