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New global dataset to inform prescribed burning practice worldwide


GlobalRx, a new dataset of over 200,000 prescribed burns, sheds light on climate impacts and fire management across 16 countries and 12 biomes.

A groundbreaking new global dataset, GlobalRx, provides the most comprehensive record to date of prescribed burns (RxBs), conducted across diverse ecosystems and climates.

Spanning 204,517 georeferenced and date-stamped burns from 1979 to 2023, the dataset is a major step forward in studying and understanding how controlled fire use may need to adapt in a shifting climate.


Climate change is altering prescribed burn windows

Prescribed burning (RxB) is a land management tool used around the world for reducing wildfire risk, restoring biodiversity, and managing natural resources. However, it can only be carried out safely and effectively under certain seasonal or weather conditions. These windows are typically concentrated in seasons with lower fire danger, such as spring or autumn in the extratropics and the early dry season in the tropics.

As global temperatures rise and dry extremes become more frequent, the meteorological windows suitable for conducting safe prescribed burns are changing. Studies already show that climate change is shortening this window in parts of the US, and regional changes have been projected in Australia.

However, trends vary by region, and until now, data limitations have restricted analysis to areas with well-established fire records. GlobalRx offers an unprecedented opportunity to analyse fire use across 12 biomes and 209 terrestrial ecoregions.


Why a global perspective matters

An international team of researchers – including Alice Hsu, Matt Jones, Jane Thurgood, Adam Smith, Rachel Carmenta and Corinne Le Quéré from the Tyndall Centre on Climate Change Research – have assembled the new dataset from both national and regional databases.

Before GlobalRx, there was no global database of prescribed burning. Most prior studies focused on data-rich regions like North America and Australia, limiting the ability to compare RxB trends and practices across countries and ecosystems.

Given the future projections of wildfire risk, it is increasingly important that agencies and practitioners are equipped with the essential information on how practices, resources and regulations may need to adapt so RxBs remain safe and effective. The new dataset, in the Scientific Data journal, allows users to directly compare the proportion of burns that fall within weather-suitable periods across regions and land cover types.


Supporting fire research and policy at scale

GlobalRx complements other efforts to track human fire use, such as the Database of Anthropogenic Fire Impacts (DAFI) and the Livelihood Fire Database (LIFE). Together, these resources support the development of improved fire models and policies by highlighting regional variations in fire use and the complex interplay between climate and human activity.

In Australia alone, GlobalRx holds over 120,000 records, 80 per cent of which are concentrated in southeastern states such as New South Wales and Victoria – some of the most flammable landscapes in the world, coinciding with the country’s highest population densities. Most of these burns occurred in temperate eucalypt forests and mallee woodlands.


A tool for future resilience

As climate change continues to reshape fire regimes, GlobalRx facilitates the exchange of meteorological and environmental data and offers a timely and critical tool for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners.

By enabling more informed decision-making across scales, the dataset lays the foundation for safer, more adaptive fire management in a warming world.

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