Wildfires are becoming more intense and dangerous, but a new Stanford-led study offers hope: prescribed burnsâintentionally set, controlled firesâcan significantly lessen their impact. By analyzing satellite data and smoke emissions, researchers found that areas treated with prescribed burns saw wildfire severity drop by 16% and smoke pollution fall by 14%. Even more striking, the smoke from prescribed burns was just a fraction of what wildfires would have produced in the same areas.
Observations from the Little Bunker
Last updated: January 27, 2026 08:12 PM
Atmospheric COâ
428.6 ppm
+17.4
ppm/year
Atmospheric CHâ
1940.59 ppb
+-0.24
ppb/year
Global Temperature
+1.48 °C
Peak: +1.73°C
World Population
8.1 billion
+67
million/year