Influence of Time‐Averaging of Climate Data on Estimates of Atmospheric Vapor Pressure Deficit and Inferred Relationships With Wildfire Area in the Western United States

Vapor pressure deficit (VPD) is a driver of evaporative demand and correlates strongly with wildfire extent in the western United States (WUS). Vapor pressure deficit is the difference between saturation vapor pressure (es) and actual vapor pressure (ea). Because es increases nonlinearly with temperature, calculations of time‐averaged VPD vary depending on the frequency of temperature measurements and how ea is calculated, potentially limiting our understanding of fire‐climate relationships. We calculate eight versions of monthly VPD across the WUS and assess their differences. Monthly VPDs calculated from daily data are 2%– 6% higher, and more accurate, than when calculated from monthly data. Using daily maximum and minimum temperature, instead of mean, increases VPD by ∼20%, but can overestimate true values depending on how ea is calculated. These differences do not meaningfully impact correlations with annual wildfire area, however, suggesting our understanding of historical fire‐VPD relations is not very sensitive to how VPD is calculated.