Amir AghaKouchak, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Irvine, recently co-authored a study in “Science Advances” showing that regions facing drought conditions have warmed four times faster than parts of the country with average weather conditions. That combined effect of heat waves and droughts is contributing to an uptick in the severity of wildfires in California. “Fires are getting more frequent, more intense,” he said. “Not only that, the fire season is changing.”