- Global heating is making winters wetter and summers drier and hotter in Europe.
- Severe wildfires have killed people, destroyed thousands of homes, and forced more than 300,000 people to flee.
- The WWA analysis uses daily severity ratings (DSR) to assess the seven-day period with the highest DSR for each country, comparing today's heated world with a world before mass fossil-fuel burning raised global temperature by 1.4C (2.5F).
- Researchers called the findings extremely scary and a clear sign of escalating impacts of human-caused warming.
- Dr Clair Barnes of Imperial College London said climate change increases hot, dry, flammable conditions that are extremely conducive to wildfires.
- Julie Arrighi of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre said what is happening in Spain and France goes well beyond what we would expect from past events.
- UN climate chief Simon Stiell said European megafires show how fast climate-driven extreme heat and dry landscapes can turn wildfires into devastating national disasters, and called for moving faster from fossil fuels to renewables.
A new analysis by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) has found that climate change has significantly increased the likelihood of extreme weather conditions conducive to wildfires in Europe.
In Spain, hot, dry, and windy conditions are now at least 20 times more likely due to global heating, while in France, the risk has doubled.1
The study highlights that the extreme heat and drought fueling wildfires are directly linked to a 1.4C rise in global temperatures, a consequence of human activities such as fossil fuel burning.
Julie Arrighi, director of programmes at the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, stated, “What we are seeing now in Spain and France goes well beyond what we would expect from past events.”9
The analysis assessed the seven-day period with the highest daily severity ratings (DSR) for wildfires, revealing that the current conditions are unprecedented for this time of year.345
Severe wildfires have already claimed lives, destroyed thousands of homes, and forced over 300,000 people to evacuate.2
Experts warn that the ongoing climate crisis is making winters wetter and summers hotter, leading to devastating national disasters.101112
“Humanity continuing to burn colossal amounts of coal, oil, and gas is making these conditions more dangerous,” said a climate expert.
The findings underscore the urgent need for countries to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy to mitigate the escalating impacts of climate change.
“WWA assessed each country's worst seven-day wildfire streak against a world before fossil fuels raised global temperature by 1.4C. Dr Clair Barnes warned it is still early in the season, with another heatwave looming and more than 300,000 people already forced to flee.”
The Guardian
