WILDFIRES / HUMAN IMPACT / CLIMATE CHANGE
BURN INDEX
Harri Pälviranta
With climate change, wildfires are becoming more frequent and fierce. They are spreading faster and lasting longer. The wildfires in Southern Europe in 2023 exemplify this development: approximately fourteen percent of the island of Rhodes burned in just one week, while wildfires in southern Italy continued for months. Near Los Angeles, wildfires scorched thousands of homes within just a few days in 2025, while South Korea experienced the worst wildfire in its documented history.
Between 2023 and 2025, Pälviranta traveled to Greece, Spain, Australia, Portugal, the United States (Los Angeles), and South Korea to document the material effects and multifaceted traces left by large-scale wildfires. Rather than depicting the fires themselves, Pälviranta focuses on their aftermath, portraying the remnants they leave behind.
The work reflects on the impact of wildfires on global climate conditions and on the role humans play in their increasing frequency and scale.
Clothbound, foiled hardcover with a tipped-in photograph
80 pages
52 photographs
Offset printing
Coloured edges
21 × 27,5 cm
First edition of 400 copies
ISBN 978-91-990235-5-7
Designed by Janne Riikonen
September 2026
To be released at Polycopies in Paris on Friday 13th of November. The pre-orders are shipped the following week.
Pre-order discount: 35€
With climate change, wildfires are becoming more frequent and fierce. They are spreading faster and lasting longer. The wildfires in Southern Europe in 2023 exemplify this development: approximately fourteen percent of the island of Rhodes burned in just one week, while wildfires in southern Italy continued for months. Near Los Angeles, wildfires scorched thousands of homes within just a few days in 2025, while South Korea experienced the worst wildfire in its documented history.
Between 2023 and 2025, Pälviranta traveled to Greece, Spain, Australia, Portugal, the United States (Los Angeles), and South Korea to document the material effects and multifaceted traces left by large-scale wildfires. Rather than depicting the fires themselves, Pälviranta focuses on their aftermath, portraying the remnants they leave behind.
The work reflects on the impact of wildfires on global climate conditions and on the role humans play in their increasing frequency and scale.