Wildfires are an increasing threat to our planet, with devastating consequences for the environment, wildlife, and human communities. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, in 2021 alone, wildfires burned over 10 million acres of land in the United States, causing billions of dollars in damages and claiming numerous lives.
Of course, the impact of wildfires is not limited to the United States alone. Wildfires have become increasingly frequent and destructive around the world. This is largely due to climate change, deforestation, and human activity. The 2022 wildfires were a testament to the problems we face when it comes to climate change.
Below, you'll find a wildfire infographic for 2022. It provides a visual representation of the scale of the wildfire crisis we face. We hope this overview is useful. It covers some recent, alarming statistics regarding wildfires and climate change.
While it's true that the stats can make for grim reading, there is reason to be optimistic about the future. With advances in technology, we have new tools at our disposal that can help us to detect and prevent wildfires before they become uncontrollable infernos. Dryad's Silvanet provides ultra-early wildfire detection at scale that can detect wildfires during their smoldering phase, allowing firefighters to respond quickly and contain the blaze before it spreads.
For a deeper dive into the effects of wildfires (many of which remain vastly underreported) and a look at the emerging technologies that can make significant and sustainable inroads when it comes to tackling them, download our recent whitepaper, 'What Lies Beneath: the hidden truth about wildfire.'
Feel free to share our forest fire infographic. It's available in PNG and PDF formats. A key step in successfully addressing the global wildfire issue is a full and frank reckoning with the facts on the ground. We hope this infographic helps by providing an at-a-glance overview of recent statistics.
This infographic is also available as a PDF.