We have been talking about heat waves and droughts; wildefire and droughts, heat stress because drought. But what about -Smouldering and Drought?
SMOULDERING!
The slow, flameless form of combustion, sustained by the heat evolved when oxygen directly attacks the surface of a condensed-phase fuel (Wikipedia).
Droughts, drainage, and changes in land use are likely the main causes that lead to the high flammability conditions of dry peat lands. Possible ignition events of smouldering wildfires.
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"However, during prolonged drought conditions, the organic soils found in many wetlands may dry sufficiently to ignite and burn (de Groot 2012). Such fires, variously called ground fires, peat fires, or muck fires, are the result of smoldering combustion in organic soils"
Reference:Watts, A.C., Kobziar, L.N. Smoldering Combustion and Ground Fires: Ecological Effects and Multi-Scale Significance. fire ecol 9, 124–132 (2013). https://doi.org/10.4996/fireecology.0901124
