Fire! Fire!

Changing drying patterns are resulting in wildfires spreading to fuel-abundant regions, formerly less prone to burning (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2021/feb/19/how-fires-have-spread-to-previously-untouched-parts-of-the-world). Fires have recently devastated areas of Australia, California, the Pantanal (a natural region in South America) and Siberia. Changes in the regional fire pattern are seen in more forests burning. This is worrying, as this releases more carbon dioxide and, in the case of Siberia, methane into the atmosphere. These 'greenhouse gases' will obviously intensify global heating and make the change in drying patterns even more obvious (a vicious cycle). Changes in the regional fire pattern are also seen in there being fewer fires in grasslands (such the African savannah). This is also worrying as grasslands are adapted to fire. When fires don't occur, it puts their bio-vitality at risk. This complex global pattern, highlights the difficulty of encapsulating the effects of climate change.