Pacific Ocean warming shifts wildfire risk: up 22% in US Southwest, down 19% in Australia

A Pacific Ocean warming trend has been found to significantly alter wildfire conditions in two major regions of the world. The pattern increased the burned area in the southwestern United States by approximately 22%, raising fire risks considerably. In contrast, eastern Australia saw a roughly 19% reduction in fire-affected land under the same climatic influence. Scientists reached these conclusions after examining several decades of combined wildfire and climate data. The findings could help improve the accuracy of future wildfire prediction models by better accounting for ocean-climate interactions.