Fire Weather and Drought: Recent Developments and Future Perspectives

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Meteorology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 361

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China
Interests: drought; fire weather; atmospheric circulation; climate change; land-atmosphere coupling

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Interests: hydrometeorology; climate extremes; global climate change; land-atmosphere interactions

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fire weather and drought are two interlinked phenomena that have profound implications for ecosystems, human activities, and economies. Both are exacerbated by the ongoing changes in meteorological and climatological conditions due to anthropogenic warming, such as rising air temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns, and increasing evaporative demand. These changes intensify the frequency, severity, and spatial extent of droughts, which, in turn, create conducive conditions for wildfires. Additionally, land cover and land use changes further influence the fire–drought nexus by altering water and energy balances.

Climate change amplifies these risks, leading to prolonged drought periods and more extreme fire weather conditions, which are increasingly associated with devastating compound events. Such events not only threaten natural and managed ecosystems but also impose significant economic and societal costs, particularly in regions already vulnerable to water scarcity and wildfire risks.

This Special Issue aims to advance our understanding of fire weather, drought processes, and their interactions. We invite contributions that explore innovative approaches to monitoring, modeling, and predicting these phenomena and their impacts on water resources, ecosystems, and human communities. The Special Issue seeks to address key topics, including the influence of anthropogenic warming and natural variability, trends in meteorological factors and compound extreme events, the development of effective risk management strategies, etc.

In particular, submissions are encouraged on the following themes:

  • Indicators and diagnostics of fire weather, drought, and related compound extreme events;
  • Modern techniques for monitoring meteorological and hydrological conditions (e.g., satellite-based methods);
  • Trends in atmospheric circulation and their links to fire–drought dynamics;
  • Socioeconomic and ecological impacts of fire weather and drought;
  • Future projections of fire weather and drought under various climate scenarios.

We hope this Special Issue will provide a platform for interdisciplinary collaboration and inspire actionable solutions to address the growing challenges posed by fire weather and drought in a warming world.

Dr. Yizhou Zhuang
Prof. Dr. Rong Fu
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • fire weather
  • drought
  • compound extreme event
  • climate change
  • meteorological condition

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 11814 KiB  
Article
Self-Organizing Map-Based Classification for Fire Weather Index in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region and Their Potential Causes
by Maowei Wu, Chengpeng Zhang, Meijiao Li, Wupeng Du, Jianming Chen and Caishan Zhao
Atmosphere 2025, 16(4), 403; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos16040403 - 30 Mar 2025
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Abstract
Understanding the characteristics of wildfires in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region is crucial for improving the monitoring of local wildfire danger. Our investigation first establishes the spatial distributions of fire weather index (FWI) distributions and satellite-observed wildfire occurrences. The FWI provides a reasonably accurate [...] Read more.
Understanding the characteristics of wildfires in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region is crucial for improving the monitoring of local wildfire danger. Our investigation first establishes the spatial distributions of fire weather index (FWI) distributions and satellite-observed wildfire occurrences. The FWI provides a reasonably accurate representation of wildfire danger in the BTH region. Through Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) clustering analysis, we identify nine distinct spatial patterns in FWI composites. Notably, the annual frequency of SOM modes 2 and 7 has shown a significant increasing trend over the past 40 years. The spatial distribution of the highest FWI values in these two modes is in the southern and central BTH regions, respectively. Subsequently, we examine the relationship between FWI variations and atmospheric circulation patterns. A synoptic analysis indicates that the increased fuel availability index observed in SOM modes 2 and 7 can be primarily attributed to two key factors. One is a post-trough system, which is marked by a decrease in water vapor transport. The other is a high-pressure system, which is associated with higher temperatures and drought conditions. Finally, the relative contributions of the fuel available index and the wildfire spread rate index to the FWI are quantified using a partial differential approach. The variations in the fuel available index are the primary drivers of the high FWI values in these two SOM patterns. This study underscores the importance of analyzing the synergistic effects of multiple atmospheric circulation patterns on the fuel availability index, which is critical for improving wildfire danger prediction at different timescales in the BTH region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fire Weather and Drought: Recent Developments and Future Perspectives)
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