Nature Communications (Oct 2021)

Increasing large wildfires over the western United States linked to diminishing sea ice in the Arctic

  • Yufei Zou,
  • Philip J. Rasch,
  • Hailong Wang,
  • Zuowei Xie,
  • Rudong Zhang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26232-9
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 1
pp. 1 – 12

Abstract

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The western United States have seen an increase in wildfire activity in recent decades, the causes of which are not well understood. Here, the authors show that Arctic sea ice decline contributed to this increase through its influence on regional circulation which enhanced fire-favourable weather conditions.