The amount of land scorched by wildfires in Northern and Central California has increased fivefold in the last two decades — and nearly all of that increase can be attributed to human-caused climate change, according to a new study published Monday. By 2050, the amount of land burned could increase another 3% to 52%, depending on the level of temperature change in the next three decades, according to study author Amir AghaKouchak, a professor of earth science systems at UC Irvine. … “The effect of anthropogenic emissions is very, very significant, more than what we thought before we started the study. We were not expecting this level of percent change,” AghaKouchak said. [Subscription required, you can request an electronic copy of the article by sending an email to communications@uci.edu.] Read More