Increased Arctic fire occurrence related to human activity calls for improved management

Cengiz Akandil , Ramona Julia Heim, Elena Plekhanova, Nils Rietze, Miguel O. Román, Zhuosen Wang, Reinhard Furrer, Gabriela Schaepman-Strub

Arctic fires have become more frequent in recent decades. They release carbon to the atmosphere through burning organic material and degrading permafrost and thus accelerate global warming. Previous research highlighted climate variables as the driving factor of fire occurrence in the Arctic, largely ignoring the contribution of human activity. Here, we analyzed the relationship between fire occurrence and human activity, as represented by artificial light at night, from 2001 to 2013 at pan-Arctic scale. Our results show a 2.5 times higher fire occurrence in areas lit by human activity compared to control points randomly selected from areas with similar climate conditions. Moreover, fire occurrence is significantly higher when closer to light-emitting human activity, indicating a pronounced impact of human activity near lit area at pan-Arctic scale. Regional differences in fire occurrence demonstrated through case studies indicate the potential of fire management. Effective management of fires related to human activity in the Arctic is important to reduce damage to infrastructure, disturbance to permafrost ecosystems and positive feedbacks to climate warming through carbon emissions.