Effects of Climate Change on Canadian Forest Fires

This study aimed to determine the effects of climate change on forest fire trends in Canada by measuring correlations between weather conditions, and the frequencies and sizes of forest fires. Upon identifying the correlations, a model was created to understand future forest fire trends in order to prevent the increasing occurrences of forest fires, and to devise solutions to reduce their damages. The data obtained from the Canadian National Fire Database was modeled with a linear regression to predict and correlate weather conditions with future forest fire trends. It was concluded that temperature and wind speed correlated positively with forest fire frequency and size, while precipitation presented a negative correlation. To reduce the harmful effects of forest fires, cloud seeding can be used to create more precipitation, and wind farms can be built to lower wind speeds and attract lightning. However, more research and stricter policies directly targeting climate change is a necessity when it comes to decreasing forest fire trends and improving longterm security.