New Workshop Report Highlights Global Priorities for Advancing Wildfire Modelling and AI

Washington, D.C., February 2026. The InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) has released a new report capturing the key insights from an international workshop on Wildfire Modelling and Artificial Intelligence. The event, held on March 17–18, 2025, in Madrid, was organised in collaboration with the Royal Spanish Academy of Sciences and supported by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The report, authored by Dr. Hussam Mahmoud, Vanderbilt University, distills discussions among 26 experts from ten countries, who examined the strengths, limitations and applications of wildfire prediction models. It sets out clear priorities for improving wildfire preparedness and response through international collaboration, data standardisation and more effective integration of modelling into policy and practice.

Complementary Approaches to Prediction

The report highlights the complementary nature of different modelling approaches. Physics-based models, such as the Fire Dynamics Simulator developed by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, provide highly accurate insights into fire behaviour but require significant computational power. Semi-physics-based models, such as AGNI-NAR, balance realism and efficiency, while empirical and AI-driven models like Cell2Fire offer scalable and accessible risk assessments. Together, these tools can form a powerful toolkit to advance wildfire understanding and mitigation.

A Call for Collaboration

By emphasising the risks faced by the wildland–urban interface (WUI), the workshop report underscores the urgent need to connect technical fire simulations with real-world applications. It calls on the international community to strengthen collaboration, training, and targeted investment to ensure wildfire modelling tools can better inform policy, planning, and community protection.

The full report, Wildfire Modelling and Artificial Intelligence: Workshop Summary, is now available from IAP here.