Climate Central's Climate Shift Index links warmer, drier weather around B.C.'s major wildfires this summer to human-caused climate change. The analysis covered fires over 200 hectares between May and September and found every one followed two weeks of climate-driven warming. Afternoon temperatures averaged 2.7 C warmer and overnight temperatures 2.8 C warmer than in a world without carbon pollution. The effect on fire behaviour runs through fuel moisture. Fine surface fuels can dry in less than a day, while deeper forest floor material takes weeks. That is why the two-week window before fires matters. Warmer nights are also a growing problem because they shorten the cooler, humid period when fire activity usually calms and crews can make progress.
