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Global heating particularly increasing risk of death from smoke inhalation in Australia, South America, Europe and parts of Asia

Global heating is causing more of the planet to be burned from wildfires and probably killing an extra 12,000 people a year from breathing in smoke, according to new research.

Global heating was particularly increasing the risk of death from wildfire smoke in Australia, South America, Europe and the boreal forests of Asia, one modelling study found.

A separate study said between 2003 and 2019 global heating had increased the area of the planet being burned almost 16% but other human actions, such as clearing forests and savannahs for roads or agriculture, had lowered the total burned area by 19%.

Both studies, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, teased apart the effect that adding greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere was having on wildfires, compared to other human actions such as land clearing.