Wildfires in tropical peatlands reached their highest levels in at least 2,000 years during the 20th century, reversing a thousand-year decline driven by natural climate patterns, according to a University of Exeter study analyzing charcoal records across multiple continents. Human activities such as agricultural drainage, forest clearing, and land development in Southeast Asia and Australasia are the primary drivers of the surge, with researchers urging peatland conservation and sustainable resource management to prevent massive carbon emissions that accelerate global warming.
Otto Beta
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Wildfires in tropical peatlands reached their highest levels in at least 2,000 years during the 20th century, reversing a thousand-year decline driven by natural climate patterns, according to a University of Exeter study analyzing charcoal records across multiple continents. Human activities such as agricultural drainage, forest clearing, and land development in Southeast Asia and Australasia are the primary drivers of the surge, with researchers urging peatland conservation and sustainable resource management to prevent massive carbon emissions that accelerate global warming.