The wildfires happening right now are really bad. Much of California has had wildfires. There have been over 100 fires just in 2021.¹ In California, the forest fire season has been starting earlier and ending later. And the forest fires haven’t just been burning in California. They’re also in Greece, Russia, and Oregon. ² The effects of these wildfires are even more disastrous than just hundreds of trees burning. The smoke from the fires is traveling to other places, too. The Bootleg Fire’s smoke, which started in Oregon, has actually traveled all the way to New York.³ 

Forest fires have more effects than you might initially think. All of the smoke being released is creating a colossal amount of carbon dioxide and pollution. This all leads to many negative effects such as ice glaciers melting, more extreme weather, and potentially more forest fires. Besides the fact that so much smoke and carbon dioxide is being produced, a lot of trees and insects are being burnt which has its own negative effects on the planet. Without all of those trees, less carbon dioxide is being absorbed, which means less oxygen is being released into the air. Without as many insects, there is less pollination, less decomposition, more pests, and less food for animals higher up on the food chain. 

Climate change makes conditions warmer and drier.⁴ If things are warmer and drier, it’s way easier for nature to catch fire. A lot of wildfires are actually caused by humans⁵, whether it’s a cigarette butt or sparks from a fire. If things are warmer and drier, that means that these fires will spread really quickly. There are all of these scientific reasons related to climate change on why wildfires are happening, but it all comes down to one main point – pollution. Fossil fuels, cars, trucks, and factories are all reasons why climate change and forest fires have gotten worse over time. 

It’s impossible to stop forest fires completely because some fires start from natural causes such as lightning. However, we should be trying to stop them from getting out of control like they are right now. The biggest thing that we can do to help stop these forest fires is pretty similar to what you can do to stop climate change. Forest fires are just one result of global warming. One simple thing that you can do that will help is buying fewer single-use plastic bottles. Creating these plastic bottles releases a lot of emissions, and is horrible for the planet. ⁶ Carpooling or biking places is another way you can help. Even planting trees in your own yard helps. If everybody just does these little things, climate change would be less of a problem, and there would definitely be less wildfires. 

Image: Held, Micheal. burning building. 2016. Unsplash, https://unsplash.com/photos/Of-NXuECJbE. 

1.  Wildfires – March 2021 | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) 
2.  Wildfires have erupted across the globe, scorching places that rarely burned before
3.  Wildfire smoke from the West’s massive blazes stretches all the way to the East Coast
4.  Wildfires and Climate Change.
5.  Wildfires and Climate Change.
6.  Our Product — Why Boxed Water is Better