PYROCAST

More than 17 million people have been affected and USD144 billion lost through major wildfire events over the last 30 years. In addition, the degradation of air quality due to the creation of aerosols and ozone from fires resulted in between 260 000 and 600 000 premature deaths each year. The risk that wildfires pose to people and the environment is increasing due to climate change. By the end of the century, the frequency of wildfires, compared to a 2000-2010 reference period, is predicted to increase by a factor of 1.31 to 1.57 with the number of extreme wildfires increasing even further. Pyrocumulonimbus or pyroCbs are storm clouds produced by particularly large and intense wildfires that can produce storm clouds. These storm clouds create their own weather fronts which can make wildfire behaviour unpredictable through strong winds and ignite new fires through lightning. PyroCbs also convect wildfire aerosols into the stratosphere, where they remain for several months. These events, which can be on the scale of a volcanic eruption, have important impacts on the Earth's climate. PyroCbs could also hinder the recovery of the ozone layer.