Wildfires and Droughts

What is Wildfires and Droughts?

Within Geography, which covers maps, landforms, weather, climate, population and settlements: understand how our planet and people connect, this topic explains Wildfires and Droughts. Geography explains how places, people and natural processes connect, so each topic here combines a clear definition with a visual model.

Check that you can explain Wildfires and Droughts in your own words and give one example from everyday life. If you can do that, you have understood the core idea.

Understanding Wildfires and Droughts helps you explain patterns on maps and in the news, and make reasoned decisions about places and environments.

Wildfires and Droughts in detail

Wildfires are uncontrolled fires that spread through forests and grassland, and are caused by lightning, human actions and made worse by hot, dry, windy conditions. Droughts are long periods of below-average rainfall that cause water shortage, crop failure and wildfire risk.

Effects include loss of life, homes, crops and wildlife, smoke pollution and soil erosion, and they can cause famine in vulnerable areas. Management includes controlled burns, firebreaks, forecasting, water conservation, irrigation and drought-resistant crops. Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of both hazards in many regions.

How the interactive helps you understand Wildfires and Droughts

Watch the Earth model in the interactive. Use any sliders or buttons it offers to change the values and see how the Earth model responds.

Before you change anything, predict the result. Then change one value at a time and check whether your prediction was right. This is a quick way to build a correct mental model of Wildfires and Droughts.

Real-life uses and examples

• Describe a real place where Wildfires and Droughts can be seen, using a map or photograph.
• Explain how Wildfires and Droughts affects people, jobs and land use in a region.
• Support an answer about Wildfires and Droughts with a named case study and specific evidence.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Writing general statements without a named place or example.
• Mixing up cause, effect and consequence when you explain Wildfires and Droughts.
• Learning the definition without testing it. Use the quiz and the interactive to check that you can apply the idea.