Climate change is increasing heat and aridity in many parts of the globe, resulting in increases in wildfire size and intensity. These changes, in turn, have increased the biomass emissions of major wildfires, with effects on climate that can be both significant and impactful. Few studies have explored the influence of wildfire on climate and coupled climate models are only beginning to incorporate the full range of processes relevant to wildfire-climate interactions. 

Recent work using CESM2 and E3SM2 has begun to explore these interactions and this work explores climate responses in these models in the context of prescribed CMIP6 biomass emissions, the 2019-20 Australian bushfire season, and the 2023 Canadian wildfire season. We demonstrate robust climate responses in these contexts that including a response in the El Niño / Southern Oscillation, highlighting the important role played by wildfire for both seasonal climate prediction and long-term climate projections. We also identify important inter-model contrasts, and suggest paths forward for narrowing uncertainty in the climate response as the broader climatic role of wildfire becomes recognized and better accounted for in a broad range of contexts.