| Popis: |
Fire weather indices are widely used to understand and assess meteorological fire hazard. However, in complex regions such as Switzerland with mountainous and hilly terrain, it is difficult to select an appropriate index. In this study, we validate the performance of 14 fire weather indices, four meteorological variables, and a logistic regression model to predict wildfire occurrence for different ecoregions in the canton of Bern in Northern Switzerland with respect to historical fire records from 1981 to 2020. We find that the performance of the indices varies seasonally and regionally. The spring season (March–May) shows that the Canadian Fine Fuel Moisture Content and other indices that respond readily to weather changes perform best. In summer (June–August) and autumn (September–November), the Canadian Buildup Index and Drought Code – indices that describe persistent hot and dry conditions – perform best. Overall, seasonal differences in performance are larger than inter-regional differences. Finally, we show that a logistic regression model trained on local historical fire activity can outperform existing fire weather indices and can be used for medium-range weather forecasting or climate change studies, using only daily averages of meteorological variables as input. |
