Abstract
Effects of forest fires on regional weather conditions were analyzed for Central and Eastern Siberia after warm and dry weather conditions in summer 2019 using COSMO-Ru (COnsortium for Small-scale MOdeling; Ru—Russia) and COSMO-RuART (ART—Aerosols and Reactive Trace gases) model systems. Four series of numerical experiments were conducted (one control experiment and three forest fire experiments assuming total vegetation destruction within the burned areas) to evaluate possible effects of forest fires on surface albedo and vegetation properties as well as their influence on air chemistry and aerosol concentration in the atmosphere. The modeling results showed significant influence of forest fires on regional weather conditions that occurred over large areas situated even away from burnt regions. Decreased surface albedo and reduced latent heat fluxes due to fire-induced destruction of forest cover lead to higher near-surface air temperature and lower air humidity in both burned and surrounding unburned forest areas. On the other hand, reduced incoming solar radiation due to smoke from forest fire plumes decreased land surface temperatures and increased thermal atmospheric stability resulting in reduced regional precipitation.
Highlights
Wildfires have a significant impact on the biosphere [1,2,3,4,5]
Similar comparisons of the mean air temperatures at burned sites between forest fire and control experiments showed that the differences of the mean air temperatures at burned sites significantly exceeded the differences obtained for the entire areas and can reach 1.1–1.3 ◦ C
Our numerical experiments based on the combines mesoscale weather forecast model (COSMO)-Ru and COSMO-RuART models revealed that forest fires affected regional weather in the Central and Eastern Siberia (Russia) for a two-week period in summer 2019
Summary
Wildfires have a significant impact on the biosphere [1,2,3,4,5]. They lead to partial or complete destruction of natural ecosystems, death of plants and animals, loss of biodiversity, and decline in natural soil fertility [6]. High frequency and severity of forest fires have been observed during recent decades in different regions of the world and attributed to both increased anthropogenic impacts on the biosphere and modern climate changes [1,7,8,9,10,11,12]. Rising global temperature and increased frequency, intensity, and duration of heat waves and droughts [13] are usually considered to be the main climatic factors influencing forest fire occurrence [14]. Anthropogenic factors affecting forest fire hazard include burning dry grass and debris, unattended campfires, careless use of equipment, and infrastructure development in the wildland–urban interface [15]
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