2025/01/28 by Fiona E. Newman Thacker, Kathleen Uyttewaal, Tomás Quiñones +3 · 1 voice
Environmental Science · Social Sciences · #Fire effects on ecosystems #Disaster Management and Resilience #Climate Change and Health Impacts
paper · pdf · doi:10.1007/s13280-024-02105-5
openalex publication_date 2025/01/28 · openalex created_date 2025/01/29 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/03
With climate change causing more extreme weather events globally, climate scientists have argued that societies have three options: mitigation, adaptation or suffering. In recent years, devastating wildfires have caused significant suffering, yet the extent of this suffering has not been defined. To encapsulate this suffering, we determined impacts and effects of extreme wildfires through two systematic literature reviews. Six common themes of wildfire suffering emerged: environmental, social, physical, mental, cultural and resource suffering. These themes varied in scale: from local to regional; from individuals to communities; and from ecosystems to landscapes. We then applied these themes in the Las Maquinas (Chile) and Fort McMurray (Canada) wildfires. This highlighted several adaptation strategies that can reduce suffering, however our exploration indicates these strategies must address social and ecological factors. This analysis concludes that suffering from wildfires is diverse and widespread, and that significant engagement with adaptation strategies is needed if this is going to decrease.