Wildfires are common occurrences worldwide, defined as destructive and unregulated fires in rural areas on vegetation spots (e.g. forests, savannas, grasslands), however, as a result of climate change the risk and size of wildfires in the Western United States have both risen. Wildfires not only affect animals and the ecosystem, but they also have long-term and short-term socioeconomic impacts. Property loss is one of the wildfires’ immediate economic impacts which can be accompanied by the displacement of people from their homes, the decimation of businesses.

Climate change has increased the temperature while lessening soil moisture and the availability of trees, bushes which contributes to dangerous variables that can help spread the wildfires. All of these elements are strongly related to climate change, either directly or indirectly. In the United States, the number of big fires doubled between 1984 and 2015 due to climate change. According to research, climate change results in conditions that are warmer and drier. This rise in wildfire risk is being fueled by increased drought and a longer fire season. According to predictions, a 1-degree Celsius annual average temperature increase would result in an increase in the median burned area of up to 600 percent in various types of forests throughout much of the U.S.

Warmer temperatures and drier conditions can aid in the spread of fires and make them more difficult to put out. Another example of this is the mountain pine beetle that can weaken or kill trees spread more readily in warmer, drier climates, increasing the amount of fuels in a forest.

In lieu of more than 1,000 wildfires currently in Canada the smoke is drifting over the northern US, endangering the health of citizens in northern US cities like Chicago, Illinois, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. According to global pollution tracker IQAir, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Detroit, Michigan, are among at least three significant US cities that are now listed in the top 20 most polluted cities in the world. Without immediate action, our future is doomed.