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In chaparral communities in Southern California, for example, some plants have leaves coated in flammable oils that encourage an intense fire. [20] This heat causes their fire-activated seeds to germinate (an example of dormancy) and the young plants can then capitalize on the lack of competition in a burnt landscape. Other plants have smoke ...
Climate change promotes the type of weather that makes wildfires more likely. In some areas, an increase of wildfires has been attributed directly to climate change. [11]: 247 Evidence from Earth's past also shows more fire in warmer periods. [74] Climate change increases evapotranspiration. This can cause vegetation and soils to dry out.
A backdraft can occur when a compartment fire has little or no ventilation. Due to this, little or no oxygen can flow into the compartment. Then, because fires reduce oxygen, the oxygen concentration decreases. When the oxygen concentration becomes too low to support combustion, some or all of the combustion switches to pyrolysis.
Climate change is making the Western United States drier, which can fuel wildfires like those affecting Los Angeles. With higher temperatures come parched landscapes full of vegetation that can ...
The longer fire seasons are due to the increased heat and length of summer and spring, which are the most common seasons for wildfires. [20] These longer seasons also start earlier due to the loss of snowpack during the winter causing less moisture in summer soil making it better fuel for wildfires. [21]
So-called “climate whiplash” is another underlying factor, whereby one weather extreme seems to follow another due to climate change and rising global temperatures. Although 2025 is off to a ...
Spontaneous combustion of grass or manure piles causes numerous fires each year. Moisture in wet hay piles fosters microorganism growth, which generates heat as they decompose the organic material.
The ability to control fire was a dramatic change in the habits of early humans. [15] Making fire to generate heat and light made it possible for people to cook food, simultaneously increasing the variety and availability of nutrients and reducing disease by killing pathogenic microorganisms in the food. [16]