Commentaries and Perspectives Archives

A call to refine fire attribution: expanding the FAR statistic to capture the complexity of Los Angeles extreme fires

Published:August 2025

Author(s):Chris Huntingford, Douglas I Kelley and Maria L F Barbosa

Publisher:Environmental Research Letters

This perspective examines the causes of the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, including climate change, human land use, campfires, faulty powerlines, and other human-driven factors, and suggests improvements to statistical analyses.Read More →

Climate extremes disrupt fungal–bacterial interactions

Published:November 2023

Author(s):Jingjing Shi, Madhav P. Thakur

Publisher:Nature Microbiology

In this comment, the authors argue that interactions between soil fungi and bacteria may be crucial to understanding the ways that soil microbiomes change in response to climate extremes.Read More →

Operational Extreme Weather Event Attribution Can Quantify Climate Change Loss and Damages

Published:February 2022

Author(s):Michael F. Wehner, Kevin A. Reed

Publisher:PLOS Climate

This opinion piece argues for moving event attribution from academic research to operational centers to better inform public understanding and policy decisions regarding climate change-induced losses and damages. Read More →

A Shorter, Sharper Rainy Season Amplifies California Wildfire Risk

Published:February 2021

Author(s):Daniel L. Swain

Publisher:American Geophysical Union

This article provides an overview of California wildfire risk.Read More →

Uncertainties in Climate and Weather Extremes Increase the Cost of Carbon

Published:June 2020

Author(s):Cristian Proistosescu, Gernot Wagner

Publisher:Cell Press

Climate change has myriad physical and economic impacts. This study argues that uncertainties in climate and weather extremes only further increase the social cost of carbon emissions.Read More →

Climate Change Hits Poor Hardest in U.S.

Published:May 2009

Author(s):Douglas Fischer

Publisher:Scientific American

Review of a study that found that climate change is disproportionately affecting the poor and minorities in the United States. Read More →