Climate change made the hot, dry conditions behind recent deadly wildfires in Chile and Argentina up to three times more likely, scientists confirm.
BUENOS AIRES: Human-induced climate change made the extreme fire weather that fueled recent devastating wildfires in southern Chile and Argentina about 2.5 to three times more likely. This finding comes from a new analysis published by the World Weather Attribution network of scientists.
The blazes, occurring during the Southern Hemisphere summer, killed about two dozen people across the two countries. They also destroyed hundreds of homes, forced thousands to flee, and threatened ancient forests.
“Parts of Chile and Argentina are seeing significantly drier summers and more frequent fire weather as a result of carbon emissions,” stated the WWA. The international group specialises in assessing climate change’s role in extreme weather events.
Wildfires tore through Chile’s Biobio and Nuble regions and Argentina’s Chubut province. They razed tens of thousands of hectares and threatened a Patagonian national park home to trees over 3,000 years old.
Co-author Clair Barnes from Imperial College London said early summer rainfall in affected areas dropped by up to a quarter due to fossil fuel emissions. The drying effects of the La Nina weather phenomenon further exacerbated fire conditions.
“Our analysis shows a clear and dangerous fingerprint of climate change on these fires,” said Barnes.
The report also highlighted an elevated wildfire risk from plantations of highly flammable non-native pine trees in both regions. It pointed to reduced funding for fire management in Argentina under President Javier Milei.
“In a government where climate change as a consequence of human activities is denied and nature is given a secondary place, we end up with situations like these,” said Juan Antonio Rivera of IANIGLA.
