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Wildfires are part of the Earth System since they interact with the atmosphere, the biosphere and the anthroposphere. Climate change is altering global fire activity by modifying atmospheric and vegetation conditions. As a consequence, the effects of wildfires on the atmosphere are expected to change as well. In this thesis we assess how wildfire-atmosphere interactions are being modified due to anthropogenic global warming. Using numerical models, climate projections and statistical data analysis, a significant intensification of the interactions between fires and the atmosphere at different spatio-temporal scales was found.

Global warming is expected to alter wildfire potential and fire season severity, but the magnitude and location of change is still unclear. Here, we show that climate largely determines present fire-prone regions and their fire season. We categorize these regions according to the climatic characteristics of their fire season into four classes, within general Boreal, Temperate, Tropical and Arid climate zones. Based on climate model projections, we assess the modification of the fire-prone regions in extent and fire season length at the end of the 21st century. We find that due to global warming, the global area with frequent fire-prone conditions would increase by 29%, mostly in Boreal (+111%) and Temperate (+25%) zones, where there may also be a significant lengthening of the potential fire season. Our estimates of the global expansion of fire-prone areas highlight the large but uneven impact of a warming climate on Earth’s environment