Wang, D;
Guan, D;
Zhu, S;
Kinnon, MM;
Geng, G;
Zhang, Q;
Zheng, H;
... Davis, SJ; + view all
(2021)
Economic footprint of California wildfires in 2018.
Nature Sustainability
, 4
pp. 252-260.
10.1038/s41893-020-00646-7.
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Abstract
Recent increases in the frequency and scale of wildfires worldwide have raised concerns about the influence of climate change and associated socioeconomic costs. In the western United States, the hazard of wildfire has been increasing for decades. Here, we use a combination of physical, epidemiological and economic models to estimate the economic impacts of California wildfires in 2018, including the value of destroyed and damaged capital, the health costs related to air pollution exposure and indirect losses due to broader economic disruption cascading along with regional and national supply chains. Our estimation shows that wildfire damages in 2018 totalled $148.5 (126.1–192.9) billion (roughly 1.5% of California’s annual gross domestic product), with $27.7 billion (19%) in capital losses, $32.2 billion (22%) in health costs and $88.6 billion (59%) in indirect losses (all values in US$). Our results reveal that the majority of economic impacts related to California wildfires may be indirect and often affect industry sectors and locations distant from the fires (for example, 52% of the indirect losses—31% of total losses—in 2018 were outside of California). Our findings and methods provide new information for decision makers tasked with protecting lives and key production sectors and reducing the economic damages of future wildfires.
Type: | Article |
---|---|
Title: | Economic footprint of California wildfires in 2018 |
Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
DOI: | 10.1038/s41893-020-00646-7 |
Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-00646-7 |
Language: | English |
Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
Keywords: | Environmental impact, Environmental social sciences, Natural hazards |
UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment |
URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10119102 |
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