Vegetation fires are an essential component of the Earth system but can also cause substantial economic losses, severe air pollution, human mortality and environmental damage. Contemporary fire regimes are increasingly impacted by human activities and climate change, but, owing to the complex fire–human–climate interactions and incomplete historical or long-term datasets, it is difficult to detect and project fire-regime trajectories. In this Review, we describe recent global and regional trends in fire activity and examine projections for fire regimes in the near future. Although there are large uncertainties, it is likely that the economic and environmental impacts of vegetation fires will worsen as a result of anthropogenic climate change. These effects will be particularly prominent in flammable forests in populated temperate zones, the sparsely inhabited flammable boreal zone and fire-sensitive tropical rainforests, and will contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. The impacts of increased fire activity can be mitigated through effective stewardship of fire regimes, which should be achieved through evidence-based fire management that incorporates indigenous and local knowledge, combined with planning and design of natural and urban landscapes. Increasing transdisciplinary research is needed to fully understand how Anthropocene fire regimes are changing and how humans must adapt.

植被火灾是地球系统的重要组成部分，但也可能造成巨大的经济损失，严重的空气污染，人类死亡和环境破坏。当前的火灾状况正日益受到人类活动和气候变化的影响，但是由于复杂的火灾-人-气候相互作用以及不完整的历史或长期数据集，很难检测和预测火灾情况。在本评论中，我们描述了近期全球和区域火灾活动的趋势，并研究了近期火灾情况的预测。尽管存在很大的不确定性，但由于人为气候变化，植被火灾的经济和环境影响可能会恶化。在人口稠密的温带地区的易燃森林中，这些影响尤为突出，稀疏的易燃北方带和对火敏感的热带雨林，将导致温室气体排放。可以通过有效管理消防制度来减轻火灾活动增加的影响，这应该通过结合土著和地方知识的循证消防管理以及自然和城市景观的规划和设计来实现。需要进行越来越多的跨学科研究，以充分了解人类世的火情正在如何变化以及人类必须如何适应。这应该通过结合本地和本地知识的循证消防管理，以及自然和城市景观的规划和设计来实现。需要进行越来越多的跨学科研究，以充分了解人类世的火情正在如何变化以及人类必须如何适应。这应该通过结合本地和本地知识的循证消防管理，以及自然和城市景观的规划和设计来实现。需要进行越来越多的跨学科研究，以充分了解人类世的火情正在如何变化以及人类必须如何适应。