Wildfire Activity in Wet African Tropical Forests Exacerbated by Deforestation, Climate Change [Study]

Wildfires are known historically to occur in Africa, but massive and deadly ones rarely transpire in the moist tropical forests of the regions of West Africa and Central Africa. In addition, forest fires in these parts of the continent form in relatively small sizes. It is for this reason that little research was conducted on African tropical forest fires, although scientists have been aware of the fires for decades.

A new study led by the University of Oklahoma indicates there could be a paradigm shift in our understanding of African wildfires. Based on the new research paper, large-scale analysis (the first of its kind) of fire patterns across western-central Africa determined that wildfire activity has increased across the region. The phenomenon has been linked to climate change and deforestation.

African Tropical Forest Fires

Findings about the increasing African tropical forest fires were published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters on Thursday, May 2. According to a media release on Thursday, the study's lead author Michael Wimberly, an ecologist at the University of Oklahoma, scientists have not considered fires to be a significant part of wet tropical forests, from a historical perspective.

However, recent decades have shown there is increasing work on this subject in the Amazon rainforest, Wimberly adds. While the focus of the May 2024 study is on African wildfires in the west and central regions, the lead author asserts that people should start thinking that wet forests in general are also vulnerable to fires, as cited by the news release.

In Africa, the continent's western and central wet tropical forests have witnessed a doubling of wildfires in almost two decades, according to the paper's large-scale analysis. The university's research team said that the number of active fires doubled for more than 18 years, especially in the Congo Basin. They found the phenomenon coincides with forest degradation and the climate crisis.

Wildfire Activity Increases

From 2003 to 2021, the research paper found the increasing wildfire activity trends were mostly positive, particularly in the northeast and south Congo Basin, where wildfires are concentrated in areas with high deforestation. The team arrived at their findings by evaluating historical patterns of the African fires using a moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer.

Previous research on climate change shows its significant impact on weather- and climate-related natural disasters, including wildland fires, droughts, heat waves, and storms. Particularly, climate models show that the current climate crisis is projected to further increase the frequency and intensity of wildfires, even if there are times when these blazes are caused by human activities.

Prior to the recent research, scientists have known that wildfires are more common in dry forests and landscapes with high temperatures, compared to their wetland counterparts. Yet, the impact of climate change is expanding wildfire hazard zones in different parts of the world, including in the United States.

According to the US Government's drought data, human-induced climate change has contributed to at least 172% increase in burned areas caused by wildfires in California from 1971 to 2021.