Study: Catastrophic wildfires surge, nearly half of worst disasters strike in past decade

Catastrophic wildfires have surged globally, with 43 percent of the worst disasters recorded in just the past decade, as climate change drives hotter, drier and longer fire seasons, according to an Australian-led study.

The study analyzed 44 years of global disaster data and found economic disasters increased more than four times and fatal disasters causing 10 or more deaths tripled since 1980, with particularly sharp increases in recent years, said a statement released Friday by Australia's University of Tasmania which led the study.

Damage peaked catastrophically in 2018, totaling $28.3 billion globally, five times the 44-year average, with half of all catastrophic fire events costing over $43 billion since 1980 occurring in the last decade, according to the study published in Science.

"These aren't just bigger fires; they're fires occurring under increasingly extreme weather conditions that make them unstoppable," said Calum Cunningham, research fellow at the University of Tasmania's Fire Center.

"We're witnessing a fundamental shift in how wildfires impact society," said Cunningham, the study's lead author.

Researchers found that Mediterranean-type forests in southern Europe, California, southern Australia, and Chile, as well as temperate conifer forests in western North America, experience wildfire disasters at rates far exceeding their land area.

The study showed that half of all disasters occurred in the most extreme weather conditions on record, which have become dramatically more common, with severe fire weather increasing more than twice, atmospheric dryness increasing 2.4 times, and severe droughts increasing 3.4 times since 1980.

As Australia is a global wildfire hotspot, the study calls for urgent comprehensive adaptation strategies combining Indigenous fire management with modern approaches, including fuel reduction, improved building standards, and evacuation planning.