Study suggests fires take a day off on Sunday
Digital Reporter
Friday, November 20, 2015, 7:09 PM - A new study out of Australia's University of Melbourne suggests that fires around the world are "strongly influenced" by the work week, with Sunday being the least active day.
Climate scientist Dr. Nick Earl looked at more a billion global fires that occurred between 2001 and 2013 and found that Sunday was the 'calmest' day with only 104 million fires taking place.
According to Dr. Earl, that's 8% fewer fires than the amount that typically occurs on a Tuesday.
"This study shows there's a very clear weekly pattern to fires around the world," Dr. Earl said in a statement. "Nature doesn't adhere to the weekly cycle, so this really highlights the influence we have on the planet when it comes to fires."
The data showed that areas with higher Muslim populations, like Kazakhstan, saw the least fire activity on Thursdays and Fridays.
"But Friday is the 'day of assembly' and prayer for the Muslim faith," Dr. Earl says.
The complete paper has been published in Geophysical Letters.
Source: University of Melbourne
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