Wildfires are burning through humanity’s carbon budget, study shows

Firefighters battling a wildfire in Corinthia, Greece, in October. Each fire has a double impact on the global climate. Photograph: Yannis Kolesidis/EPA

Wildfires are burning through the carbon budget that humans have allocated themselves to limit global heating, a study shows.

The authors said this accelerating trend was approaching – and may have already breached – a “critical temperature threshold” after which fires cause significant shifts in tree cover and carbon storage.