Examples

This page provides example applications and typical workflows for using Wildfire FWI data.

Typical applications

Wildfire FWI indicators can be used in a variety of applications related to climate impact assessment and risk analysis:

  • Assessment of wildfire risk under present and future climate conditions

  • Identification of regions with high fire danger frequency

  • Analysis of seasonal variability in fire weather conditions

  • Evaluation of changes in wildfire risk due to climate change

  • Support for land management, civil protection, and planning activities

Example workflow

A typical analysis using Wildfire FWI data consists of the following steps:

  1. Select region and time period

    • Define the geographical area of interest

    • Choose a suitable time range (e.g. historical or projection period)

  2. Access the data

    • Retrieve Wildfire FWI datasets from the DestinE Data Lake

    • Select relevant daily FWI variables, annual statistics or domain-average FWI variables.

  3. Preprocess the data

    • Load NetCDF data into a suitable analysis environment (e.g. Python, MATLAB)

    • Subset the data spatially or temporally if needed

  4. Analyse wildfire indicators

    • Compute statistics such as mean, percentiles, or threshold exceedances

    • Identify periods of high fire danger

    • Compare different time periods or scenarios

  5. Visualise results

    • Create maps of fire danger indices

    • Plot time series of FWI values

    • Highlight extreme events or high-risk areas

Example analysis use cases

1. Regional wildfire risk assessment

  • Evaluate average and extreme FWI values over a region

  • Identify hotspots of persistent high fire danger

  • Compare different climate scenarios

2. Seasonal analysis

  • Analyse monthly or seasonal patterns of FWI

  • Identify peak fire season timing

  • Assess changes in season length

3. Extreme fire weather events

  • Count the number of days exceeding a high FWI threshold

  • Identify years with particularly severe conditions

  • Analyse spatial extent of extreme events

Notebook examples

The following example notebook demonstrates data retrieval and simple plotting of Wildfire FWI data. Additional examples will follow.

Notes

  • The Wildfire FWI index reflects atmospheric conditions only and does not directly account for vegetation or ignition sources.

  • Interpretation of results should consider model uncertainties and local factors affecting wildfire occurrence.