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Podcasts Take Two
What role do wildfires play in warming the planet?
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Aug 5, 2014
Listen 7:27
What role do wildfires play in warming the planet?
New research suggests that smoke from wildfires may play a bigger role in contributing to climate change than previously thought.
A plane drops fire retardant as firefighters battle a blaze in El Portal, Calif., near Yosemite National Park on Tuesday, July 29, 2014. Firefighters in the state are also battling another wildfire in the Sierra Nevada foothills east of Sacramento. (AP Photo/Al Golub)
A plane drops fire retardant as firefighters battle a blaze in El Portal, Calif., near Yosemite National Park on Tuesday, July 29, 2014.
(
Al Golub/AP
)

New research suggests that smoke from wildfires may play a bigger role in contributing to climate change than previously thought.

The idea that a warming planet means more wildfires has been around for some time, but new research suggests smoke from wildfires may also play a role in contributing to climate change.

That's the finding of a new study from scientists at Carnegie Mellon University, the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of Montana published this week in the journal "Nature Geoscience."

Neil Donahue, professor of Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, and Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, joins Take Two for more.