Q&A
THE EXPLAINER
WILDFIRES
WHERE DO WILDFIRES OCCUR?
Wildfires have occurred on our planet ever since terrestrial plants started appearing over 400 million years ago, in the period of Earth’s history known as the Silurian. While certain regions are well known for them, such as Australia, Greece, the Amazon and the western USA, they actually take place on most areas of land around the globe. Wildfires can even occur in some of the most unexpected places, such as the Arctic Circle, where so-called ‘zombie fires’ can burn peat and permafrost under the ice, persisting throughout the cold seasons. The more well-known events, such as the devastating fires in Turkey last summer, are generally associated with the fast burning of large areas of forests. These can be clearly seen as smoke plumes from a distance, and are even visible from space.