Increased contributions of climate-driven wildfires to nitrogen deposition in the United States

Communications Earth & Environment, Published online: 11 February 2026; doi:10.1038/s43247-026-03279-4

Fire activity in the western U.S. has increased sharply since 2002, linked to higher temperatures and vapor pressure deficits, and contributes to larger nitrogen deposition, based on coupled weather–chemical transport model simulations for the period of 2002-2021.