Fires that burn everything in their path and destroy huge areas are an increasingly common phenomenon. Climate change is blamed. But is it always like this?
As wildfires fueled by strong winds continue to burn around Los Angeles – killing many people and destroying thousands of acres, homes, public buildings – the EU’s Copernicus climate change agency confirmed the Friday that 2024 was the hottest year on record.
It is too early to say what role global warming played in the Los Angeles fires, however, as not all fires are directly linked to climate change. Studies by the World Weather Attribution, a group of scientists that analyzes extreme weather events, however, link global warming and some recent large fires.
In the Pantanal wetlands in Brazil, huge fires broke out last June that led to the destruction of about 440,000 hectares of land within a month. The 2023 wildfires in Canada also destroyed huge swathes of land, and Attribution scientists found a link between rising global temperatures and the wildfires that swept through eastern Canada.
How does warming affect wildfires?
A washer and dryer still stand at a property burned by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)
The research concluded that climate change has more than doubled the likelihood of catastrophic wildfires. In fact, a quarter of all forests lost worldwide in 2023 are due to this. While wildfires are common in California, particularly in the summer and fall, climate change has increased burned areas in the US state by 172% in recent decades.
In the last twenty years, the number of fires has doubled in many regions of the world. Forest fires are also becoming more frequent. About 70% of forest land lost to fires between 2001 and 2023 occurred in heavily forested countries such as Canada and Russia.
The fires themselves are not directly caused by climate change. Most are triggered by human activity. The burning of fossil fuels, which pumps greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, has led to an increase in global temperatures and an increased likelihood of fire and heatwaves.
But what can be done?
A warmer planet may worsen the weather conditions that favor wildfires. In the case of the Los Angeles fires, researchers point to the rapid shifts between extremely wet and dry weather conditions.
Volunteers try to put out a fire in northern Athens, Monday, August 12, 2024, as hundreds of firefighters tackle a large fire raging out of control on the outskirts of the Greek capital. (AP Photo/Aggelos Barai)
An unusually wet winter during 2022/2023 helped the undergrowth grow a lot. This low vegetation was then turned into a potential fuel due to record high temperatures in the summer of 2024 and a late start to rainfall this year. Climate change is also extending fire seasons around the world by an average of two weeks.
More funding is needed for early warning systems, better coordination for forest management, as well as public awareness, given that most fires are caused by human activity, Julie Berkmans, from the European Environment Agency, told DW.
In 2023, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and RescEU programmes, which help Member States to deal with extreme fires, doubled the fleet of planes, helicopters and firefighters and allocated €600 million for investment until 2030.
Rows of homes burn to the ground after the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Source: Deutsche Welle
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