Using future climate scenarios based on wildfire damages in North America, scientists estimate that up to 10,000 or more lives may be saved annually in the United States if society is able to mitigate climate change by keeping the global mean surface temperature (GMST) at 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-Industrial age (1850-1900) levels. Currently, the GMST is at 1.3 to 1.4 degrees C but is projected to reach 3 degrees C with the current direction of climate change. The findings are detailed in a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
