‘Fire weather’: dangerous days now far more common in US west, study finds

Hot, arid and dry conditions that fuel extreme wildfires have grown more frequent from Pacific coast to Great Plains

The hot, dry and windy weather conditions fueling the huge wildfires that have besieged the western US this summer have increased in frequency over the past 50 years, a new study has found.

Since 1973, global heating has desiccated the west, driving increases in fire weather" days from the Pacific coast to the Great Plains, according to research by the non-profit Climate Central. It found that the number of fire weather days increased steeply in parts of Texas and in California's interior, and that southern Nevada, south-east California and swathes of New Mexico had the highest number of average annual fire weather days - with nearly a quarter of the year in some regions being characterized as having elevated risk.