News Humans

Fewer fires in Africa these days

How flames spread, not how frequently people start them, controls burning on the continent

By Alexandra Witze

- More than 2 years ago

Africa, whose iconic savanna landscapes were shaped by fire, actually has fewer burns today than thousands of years ago, a new study suggests.

BURNING BRIGHT How widely grassland fires spread in Africa depends heavily on how people have used the local landscape, new work suggests.