This study analyzes the forest flammability hazard in the south of Tyumen Oblast (Western Siberia, Russia) and identifies variation patterns in fire areas depending on weather and climate characteristics in 2008-2023. Using correlation analysis, we proved that the area of forest fires is primarily affected by maximum temperature, relative air humidity, and the amount of precipitation, as well as by global climate change associated with an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the maximum height of snow cover. As a rule, a year before the period of severe forest fires in the south of Tyumen Oblast, the height of snow cover is insignificant, which leads to insufficient soil moisture in the following spring, less or no time for the vegetation to enter the vegetative phase, and the forest leaf floor remaining dry and easily flammable, which contributes to an increase in the fire area. According to the estimates of the CMIP6 project climate models under the SSP2-4.5 scenario, by the end of the 21st century, a gradual increase in the number of summer temperatures above 35 degrees C is expected, whereas the extreme SSP5-8.5 scenario forecasts the tripling in the number of such hot days. The forecast shows an increase of fire hazardous conditions in the south of Tyumen Oblast by the late 21st century, which should be taken into account in the territory's economic development.

Biomass burning (BB) greatly impacts the Maritime Continent through various mechanisms including agricultural burning, land clearing and natural response to drought. The dynamic characteristics of BB in terms of its spatiotemporal distribution, seasonality, transport mechanism, and aerosol properties have prompted numerous research efforts including field campaigns, in -situ measurements, remote sensing, and modelling. Although the differing perspectives of these studies have offered insights on understanding the regional BB issues, it is challenging to compare and resolve the wider picture because of the diversity of approaches. Human -induced global warming has certainly caused multiple observed changes in the regional meteorological characteristics. In this study, we review BB events in the Maritime Continent from 2012 to 2021, focusing on the meteorological influence and knowledge evolution in cloud -aerosol -radiation (CAR). Unlike other reviews, our review examines the occurrence of BB events using synergistic application of ground -based measurement, global reanalysis model and satellite product, which allows us to examine the anomalies for comparison with other studies and identify the unique features of the event. We identified four dominant modes of variability responsible for the occurrence of large-scale BB in the Maritime Continent: (1) El Nin similar to o Southern Oscillations (ENSO), (2) extreme positiveIndian Ocean Dipole (pIOD), (3) tropical cyclone (TC) activity, and (4) Madden -Julian Oscillations (MJO). We reconcile the past CAR studies and summarize their findings based on the four key CAR mechanisms: (1) instantanous radiative forcing from aerosol -radiation interactions, IRFari (2) and its subsequent adjustments, SAari, (3) instantanous radiative forcing from aerosol -cloud interactions, IRFaci, and (4) and its subsequent adjustments, SAaci. We urge future CAR studies in the Maritime Continent should focus on accurate characterization of the composition of biomass burning plume which is a mixture of peatland, agricultural burning and anthropogenic sources.

The frequency of forest fires has increased dramatically due to climate change. The occurrence of forest fires affects the carbon and nitrogen cycles and react to climate change to form a positive feedback mechanism. These effects further impact the distribution of microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) and the soil microbial community structure. In addition, permafrost degradation can significantly affect the microorganisms in the soil. Based on these findings, this review examines the effects of fire intensity and post-fire recovery time on permafrost, the soil microbial community, MBC, MBN, and their interrelationships. This review demonstrated that (1) fires alter the condition of surface vegetation, reduce the organic layer thickness, redistribute snow, accelerate permafrost degradation, and even lead to permanent changes, where the restoration of the pre-fire state would require several decades or even centuries; (2) soil microbial community structure, soil MBC, and MBN negatively correlate with fire intensity, and the effects become more pronounced with increasing fire intensity; and (3) the structural diversity and stability of the soil microbial community were improved with time, and the amount of MBC and MBN increases as the years after a fire go by; it would still take more than ten years to recover to the pre-fire level. However, the relationship between permafrost degradation and soil microbes after forest fires is still unclear due to a lack of quantitative research on the mechanisms underlying the changes in soil microorganisms resulting from fire-induced permafrost degradation. Therefore, expanding quantitative studies and analyses of the mechanisms of interactions between forest fires, permafrost, and soil microorganisms can provide a scientific basis for understanding ecosystem carbon pools and dual-carbon targets in Arctic-boreal permafrost regions.

Northern high-latitude permafrost holds the largest soil carbon pool in the world. Understanding the responses of permafrost to wildfire is crucial for improving our ability to predict permafrost degradation and further carbon emissions. Recently, studies have demonstrated that wildfires in the pan-Arctic region induced the thickening of the active layer based on site or fire event observations. However, how this induced thickening is influenced by vegetation and permafrost types remains not fully understood due to the lack of wall-to-wall analysis. Therefore, this study employed remotely sensed fire data and modelled active layer thickness (ALT) to identify the fireinduced ALT change (& UDelta;ALT) for the pan-Arctic region, and the contributions of vegetation and permafrost were quantified using the random forest (RF) model. Our results showed that the average & UDelta;ALT and the sensitivity of & UDelta;ALT to burn severity both increased with decreasing ground ice content in permafrost. The largest values were detected in thick permafrost with low ground ice content. Regarding vegetation, the average and sensitivity of & UDelta;ALT in tundra were highest, followed by those in forest and shrub. When the individual environmental factors were all taken into account, the results showed that the contribution of vegetation types was much higher than that of permafrost types (20.2 % vs. 3.5 %). Our findings highlighted the importance of environmental factors in regulating the responses of permafrost to fire.

According to the monitoring data of the optical and microphysical characteristics of smoke aerosol at AERONET stations during forest fires in the summer of 2019 in Alaska, the anomalous selective absorption of smoke aerosol has been detected in the visible and near-infrared spectral range from 440 to 1020 nm. With anomalous selective absorption, the imaginary part of the refractive index of smoke aerosol reached 0.315 at a wavelength of 1020 nm. A power-law approximation of the spectral dependence of the imaginary part of the refractive index with an exponent from 0.26 to 2.35 is proposed. It is shown that, for anomalous selective absorption, power-law approximations of the spectral dependences of the aerosol optical extinction and absorption depths are applicable with an angstrom ngstrom exponent from 0.96 to 1.65 for the aerosol optical extinction depth and from 0.97 to -0.89 for the aerosol optical absorption depth, which reached 0.72. Single scattering albedo varied from 0.62 to 0.96. In the size distribution of smoke aerosol particles with anomalous selective absorption, the fine fraction of particles of condensation origin dominated. The similarity of the fraction of particles distinguished by anomalous selective absorption with the fraction of tar balls (TBs) detected by electron microscopy in smoke aerosol, which, apparently, arise during the condensation of terpenes and their oxygen-containing derivatives, is noted.

Throughout the larch range, warming leads to frequent fires and an increase in burned areas. We test the hypothesis that fires are an essential natural factor that reset larch regeneration and support the existence of larch forests. The study area included Larix sibirica and L. gmelinii ranges within the permafrost zone. We used satellite-derived and field data, dendrochronology, and climate variables analysis. We found that warming led to an increase in fire frequency and intensity, mean, and extreme (>10,000 ha) burned areas. The burned area is increasing in the northward direction, while fire frequency is decreasing. The fire rate exponentially increases with decreasing soil moisture and increasing air temperature and air drought. We found a contrasting effect of wildfire on regeneration within continuous permafrost and within the southern lowland boundary of the larch range. In the first case, burnt areas regenerated via abounded larch seedlings (up to 500,000+ per ha), whereas the south burns regenerated mostly via broadleaf species or turned into grass communities. After the fire, vegetation GPP was restored to pre-fire levels within 3-15 years, which may indicate that larch forests continue to serve as carbon stock. At the southern edge of the larch range, an amplified fire rate led to the transformation of larch forests into grass and shrub communities. We suggested that the thawing of continuous permafrost would lead to shrinking larch-dominance in the south. Data obtained indicated that recurrent fires are a prerequisite for larch forests' successful regeneration and resilience within continuous permafrost. It is therefore not necessary to suppress all fires within the zone of larch dominance. Instead, we must focus fire suppression on areas of high natural, social, and economic importance, permitting fires to burn in vast, larch-dominant permafrost landscapes.

The emission of black carbon (BC) particles, which cause atmospheric warming by affecting radiation budget in the atmosphere, is the result of an incomplete combustion process of organic materials. The recent wildfire event during the summer 2019-2020 in south-eastern Australia was unprecedented in scale. The wildfires lasted for nearly 3 months over large areas of the two most populated states of New South Wales and Victoria. This study on the emission and dispersion of BC emitted from the biomass burnings of the wildfires using the Weather Research Forecast-Chemistry (WRF-Chem) model aims to determine the extent of BC spatial dispersion and ground concentration distribution and the effect of BC on air quality and radiative transfer at the top of the atmosphere, the atmosphere and on the ground. The predicted aerosol concentration and AOD are compared with the observed data using the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) aethalometer and air quality network and remote sensing data. The BC concentration as predicted from the WRF-Chem model, is in general, less than the observed data as measured using the aethalometer monitoring network, but the spatial pattern corresponds well, and the correlation is relatively high. The total BC emission into the atmosphere during the event and the effect on radiation budget were also estimated. This study shows that the summer 2019-2020 wildfires affect not only the air quality and health impact on the east coast of Australia but also short-term weather in the region via aerosol interactions with radiation and clouds.

This paper conducts an extensive review of existing research to present a comprehensive analysis of the global problems caused by climate change, with a particular focus on the events that occurred during the record-breaking hottest year, 2023. Climate change is widely recognized as the defining issue of our time, and we find ourselves at a critical juncture in addressing its repercussions. The effects of climatic changes permeate various aspects of life on Earth, including increasing occurrences of floods, landslides, droughts, storms, sea-level rise, and other natural disasters. With the notion of global boiling, we aim to intensify awareness and prompt more radical actions to mitigate the worst consequences of climate change. It is designed to sound the alarm and trigger more radical action to stave off the worst of climate change. The escalating global warming, driven by human emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases, is already significantly altering the Earth's climate and leaving a profound impact on the environment. The melting of glaciers and ice sheets, earlier breakup of lake and river ice, shifts in plant and animal ranges, and earlier blooming of plants and trees are some of the observable manifestations. Furthermore, climate change has emerged as a critical factor in exacerbating the risk and severity of wildfires worldwide, with key influences stemming from temperature variations, soil moisture, and the presence of potential fuel sources such as trees and shrubs. These interconnected factors underscore the direct and indirect ties between climate variability, climate change, and the extent of wildfire risks.

Vegetation fires become the concern worldwide due to their substantial impacts on climate and environment, and in particular in the circum-Arctic. Assessing vegetation fires and associated emissions and causes can improve understanding of fire regime and provide helpful information for vegetation fires solution. In this study, satellitebased vegetation fires and emissions during 2001-2020 were investigated and contributions of different types of fires were analyzed. Furthermore, climate anomalies related to extreme vegetation fires were explored. The main results showed that the region south of the Arctic circle (50 degrees N-67 degrees N) experienced a greater number of vegetation fires compared to the Arctic (north of 67 degrees N). During 2001-2020, interannual variability of vegetation fires between 50 degrees N and 67 degrees N appeared to be decreasing while emissions (including carbon, dry matter, PM2.5, and BC) appeared to be increasing overall, which were contributed by the increasing summer boreal forest fires in this region largely. In the Arctic, vegetation fires and emissions increased in recent years distinctly, and those were dominated by the summer forest fires. Spatially, large increases of vegetation fires were located in the eastern Siberia and northern North America while large decreases were located in the northwestern Eurasia mainly. Additionally, in the Arctic, the unprecedented vegetation fires were observed in the eastern Siberia and Alaska in 2019 and in the eastern Siberia in 2020, which could be attributed to high pressure, high near-surface temperature, and low air moisture anomalies. Meanwhile, obvious anticyclonic anomalies in Alaska in 2019 and in the eastern Siberia in 2020 and cyclonic anomalies in the western Siberia in 2019, also played an important role on fire occurrences making drier conditions.

The COVID-19 lockdown restrictions influenced global atmospheric aerosols. We report aerosol variations over India using multiple remote sensing datasets [Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), Cloud-Aerosol Lidar, and Infrared Pathfinder (CALIPSO)], and model reanalysis [Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS)] during the lockdown implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak period from March 25 to April 14, 2020. Our analysis shows that, during this period, MODIS and CALIPSO showed a 30-40% reduction in aerosol optical depth (AOD) over the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) with respect to decadal climatology (2010-2019). The absorbing aerosol index and dust optical depth measurements also showed a notable reduction over the Indian region, highlighting less emission of anthropogenic dust and also a reduced dust transport from West Asia during the lockdown period. On the contrary, central India showed an similar to 12% AOD enhancement. CALIPSO measurements revealed that this increase was due to transported biomass burning aerosols. Analysis of MODIS fire data product and CAMS fire fluxes (black carbon, SO2, organic carbon, and nitrates) showed intense fire activity all over India but densely clustered over central India. Thus, we show that the lockdown restrictions implemented at the government level have significantly improved the air quality over northern India but fires offset its effects over central India. The biomass-burning aerosols formed a layer near 2-4 km (AOD 0.08-0.1) that produced heating at 3-4 K/day and a consequent negative radiative forcing at the surface of similar to-65 W/m(2) (+/- 40 W/m(2)) over the central Indian region.