Climate feedback of forest fires amplified by atmospheric chemistry

Climate-driven intensification of forest wildfires releases reactive gases that reduce the atmosphere’s oxidation capacity, thereby increasing methane concentrations and amplifying warming. Here our integrated fire–atmospheric chemistry modelling shows that the resulting additional warming between the 2000s and the 2050s rivals that from wetland methane emissions and fire-related carbon dioxide under an intermediate climate pathway. This finding highlights the critical role of atmospheric chemistry in regulating fire–climate feedbacks. In a warming climate, intensified wildfire emissions reduce global atmospheric oxidation capacity and amplify methane accumulation, leading to a positive climate feedback, according to an analysis of model projections from the 2000s to the 2050s.