Seeing Red: Wildfire Visualizations in the Anthropocene

Every year, forest fires are flaring up all around the world again, gradually coloring the skies in gloomy shades of orange and red. These fires have become increasingly prevalent in media portrayals of climate change, often depicted through highly aestheticized and spectacular visuals. This paper examines how such representations—found in news coverage, social media, and popular culture—shape public perceptions of both the fires themselves and the broader environmental crises they signal. Focusing on the emotional and sensory dimensions of these images, I explore whether they provoke urgency or contribute to a growing normalization of catastrophe. This presentation argues that wildfire imagery plays a dual role: as a striking visual symbol of the Anthropocene and as a tool through which public narratives about climate risk are constructed, negotiated, and contested.