145 5. Global Effects of Climate Change on Wildfire: Causal Relationships of Fire, the Natural Environment, and Human Activities Lindon Pronto Climate change and human activity is significantly impacting the frequency and severity of wildfires across the globe. Although climate change and human population are the overarching factors affecting wildfires in the current dialogue, the issues are more com- plex and often not fully understood. These issues range from global temperature increases and severe drought cycles to the relatively new phenomenon of the wildland urban interface (WUI). This is the area where structures are integrated with or immediately surrounded by areas of moderate to high fire risk and are directly linked to fuel types and topographic features. Because climate change is such a highly po- liticized issue, there are generally limited governmental frameworks that enact policies that encourage a deeper understanding of the caus- al relationships between climate issues and population impacts on wildfire. While politicians debate whether climate change exists, sci- entists are showing us that it is producing real threats; some of these threats are the loss of life and property as a result of wildfire, as well as the critical economic impacts of suppressing these evermore frequent- ly occurring, catastrophic fires.