Forest fires in the Western United States have occurred more frequently, burned longer, and covered more acres since 1987—and global warming is a big part of the underlying cause—according to a research paper published in July 2006 by the journal Science.
_{Photo courtesy of Carlos}

Researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the University of Arizona found four times as many large wildfires occurred in Western forests between 1987 and 2003 compared to the previous 16 years. The more recent fires burned 6.5 more land, the average duration of the fires increased from 7.8 to 37 days, and the overall fire season during those years grew by an average of 78 days.

Those changes corresponded to an average 1.5-degree rise in temperature throughout the American West during the same time period. According to the study, the first to link global warming to wildfires, the warmer temperatures due to climate change have led to longer, drier seasons, creating ideal conditions for forest fires.

"The real message of the paper is not as much about forest management," said Steven Running, a University of Montana ecology professor and one of the study's peer reviewers, according to an article in the Sacremento Bee. "It's that this is yet another dimension of global warming's impact. To me, it's the equivalent of the hurricanes on the Gulf Coast. This is our hurricane."

Media coverage:
Climate change link seen in surge of Western blazes (San Francisco Chronicle)

More information:

• All About Global Warming
• Top 10 Things You Can Do to Reduce Global Warming
  
• Global Warming Puts 12 U.S. National Parks on the Endangered List
• Serious Effects of Global Warming Already Under Way
• U.S. Autos Account for Half of Global Warming Linked to Cars Worldwide
  
• Global Warming Leads to 150,000 Deaths Every Year
• Fire and Ice: Melting Glaciers Trigger Earthquakes, Tsunamis and Volcanos