Causes and conditions that favour intense wildfires

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Contents

This video takes a look at the nature of wildfires. We team up with wildfire expert Dr Tom Smith from the London School of Economics and Political Science to look into the three primary components required for intense wildfires: fuel, climate and recent weather, and sources of ignition—both natural and human. The video also looks at global wildfire occurrence and the natural resilience of some ecosystems to this hazard.

Acknowledgments

Written and developed by: Tom Smith, Rob Parker, Harriet Ridley, Tim Parker.

Videography by: Josh Carron, Harriet Ridley.

Attributions

Living with Fire: The USGS Southern California Wildfire Risk Project by USGS (public domain)

Through Smoke and Fire, NASA Searches for Answers by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (public domain)

NASA Rainfall Data and Global Fire Weather by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is (public domain)

Image of the Week: California Wildfires by the USGS (public domain)

Kīlauea Volcano — May 19 Fissure and Flow (LERZ) by the USGS (public domain)

Kīlauea Volcano - Spattering (Aerial Between Fissures 16 and 20) by the USGS (public domain)

Indonesia on Fire by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) is licensed under CC BY 3.0

Beyond the blaze: What next for Indonesia’s forests? by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) is licensed under CC BY 3.0

Global Fire Observations and MODIS NDVI by The Scientific Visualization Studio at NASA (public domain)

iss053e317588 and iss056e126694 satellite images by NASA Johnson Space Center (public domain)

Understanding the role of forests and deforestation on local, regional and global precipitations by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) is licensed under CC BY 3.0

The Amazon isn't "Burning" - It's Being Burned by vlogbrothers is licensed under CC BY 3.0
NASA Sees Intense Fires Around The World by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (public domain)