Daily Bulletin

Wildfire science: a major research focus at NSF NCAR

January 24, 2025

The catastrophic Los Angeles wildfires are a stark reminder of the importance of Earth system science research in a time of increasingly severe and frequent weather- and climate-related disasters. NSF NCAR researchers study a wide range of topics related to wildfires, from modeling the behavior of individual blazes to using research aircraft to observe the makeup of wildfire smoke plumes. 

NSF NCAR scientists are also studying the effects of wildfires on global climate (and vice versa), as well the impact of smoke on air quality. 

Read more about NSF NCAR’s broad-ranging wildfire research projects online, or view recent news releases about wildfire research findings on the news website. 

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This material is based upon work supported by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, a major facility sponsored by National Science Foundation and managed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.