Episode description

According to NASA, nearly two-thirds of all Western wildfires recorded over the past 75 years occurred in just the last two decades. 

Firefighters and fire researchers are seeing this trend first hand. As wildfires grow more destructive and more unpredictable, fire experts need better ways to account for extreme variability.

Now, major advances in AI are helping to predict wildfire behavior, and protect communities across the globe. 

In this episode, we examine how data centers enable researchers, policymakers, and NGOs to mitigate climate threats like forest fires, reduce emissions, and enable a wide range of decarbonization solutions.

Guests: 

• Kate Brandt, chief sustainability officer at Google
• Olivia Gagliardi, smokejumper, Missoula, Mont.
• Matt Hancher, director of engineering, Geo for Environment team at Google
• LaWen Hollingsworth, fire behavior specialist, Fire Modeling Institute
• Kit O'Connor, research ecologist, U.S. Forest Service
• Prem Ramaswami, head of Data Commons at Google
• Jorge Rivera, director of data, ONE Campaign

Watch our complementary documentary on how AI is helping researchers predict and respond to fires more effectively.