Arctic fires are more frequent close to settlements

In Arctic areas touched by human activity, fires occurred 2.5 times more often than in zones with a similar climate but no settlements. The comparison covers the period from 2001 to 2013.

The study was carried out by the University of Zurich in collaboration with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and the University of Münster in Germany.

To estimate human presence the researchers used an indirect indicator. They measured artificial night-time lighting detected by satellite, which marks out settlements, infrastructure and industrial sites.

Two factors that compound

Climate change remains a determining factor. Higher temperatures and drier conditions favour both the ignition and the spread of fires.

The study, however, adds an element underestimated until now. Industrial development, infrastructure and settlements play a direct part in starting fires, on top of the weather conditions.

The researchers also observe regional differences in fire frequency near inhabited areas. According to the authors, these differences may reflect uneven capacities for prevention and response.

Arctic fires have consequences that reach beyond the area burned. They threaten the stability of the permafrost, ecosystems, biodiversity and local communities. They also release significant quantities of carbon, which amplify global warming.

The smoke can reach places very far away. In 2025 the plumes produced by the Canadian fires also passed over Switzerland. That is an effect which makes the phenomenon relevant at these latitudes too.

The period analysed stops in 2013, and the study does not say how the relationship between settlements and fires developed in the years that followed. It therefore remains open how much the expansion of industrial activity in Arctic regions has weighed over the past decade.

Nor does the study specify which human activities weigh most: settlements, transport infrastructure or industrial sites. The indicator used signals human presence but does not distinguish its forms.