How dangerous are wildfires and how can we stop them from getting worse?

The conditions for ferocious fires are expected to worsen as the planet heats up, putting more people at risk

With bigger and stronger wildfires becoming more common as Europe swelters in record-breaking heat, people will need to adapt and learn how to stay safe.

Wildfires directly kill hundreds of people around the world each year. Though they may seem apocalyptic, the death toll is far lower than from floods, which kill thousands, and from heatwaves, which kill hundreds of thousands.

But when you factor in smoke, the human cost rises rapidly. The latest study estimates that the air pollution spewed by wildfires kills a staggering 1.5 million people each year. The toxic fumes can reach so far that tendrils of smoke from Australian bushfires have menaced South America, while smoke from Canadian fires – which regularly suffocate cities across the US – have fouled the air in Europe.

Many things can spark a wildfire: natural causes such as lightning, faulty infrastructure such as downed power lines, or people behaving badly. Devastating blazes in recent years have been started by smokers tossing cigarette butts, tourists failing to put out campfires, and even arsonists intentionally setting nature alight.