What weather factors contribute to lightning-ignited wildfires (LIWs)? This is what a recent study published in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters hopes to address as a team of scientists investigated the connection between LIWs and wildfires. This study has the potential to help scientists better understand how wildfires begin and the steps that be taken to prepare for them.
For the study, the researchers examined the weather patterns that exist prior to the development of LIWs and how this correlates with the cause of wildfires. To accomplish this, the researchers used a combination of lightning location, remote sensing, and weather data, with the lightning location data obtained from the World-Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) and Global Lightning Dataset 360 (GLD360). In the end, the researchers found that wildfires were ignited during early thunderstorm development, with specific atmospheric conditions present that were favorable for wildfire ignition, including no precipitation, strong winds, and low humidity.
“This research potentially shifts our conventional understanding of lightning-fire ignition mechanisms,” said Dr. Yong Xue, who is a professor at Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology and a co-author on the study. “Although lightning during the developing phase of a thunderstorm is generally weaker compared to the mature phase, it may pose a higher risk in terms of igniting combustible materials because of the distinct atmospheric conditions often present during this stage, such as low precipitation, low humidity, and strong winds.”
While lightning is estimated to cause approximately 15 percent of wildfires, the resulting total acreage burned is approximately 60 percent. Therefore, studies like this can help scientists, weather experts, and the public better understand how lightning contributes to wildfires and the steps that can be taken to prepare for them.
What new connections between LIWs and wildfires will researchers make in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters, EurekAlert!