A scientific analysis conducted after the recent wildfires that hit Europe has starkly revealed the effects of climate change. Research by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group shows that human-caused climate change increased the fire risk in Spain by at least 20 times and in France by at least 2 times.
The fires, which have been ongoing since the beginning of this month, caused the deaths of 3 people, destroyed thousands of homes, and forced more than 300,000 people to evacuate. The analysis shows that under current climate conditions, weather events of this severity are expected to occur in Spain once every 6 years and in France once every 20 years.
Experts note that a wet winter followed by a dry spring turned rapidly growing vegetation that later dried out into perfect fuel for the fires. Warnings indicate that high temperatures will continue in both countries in the coming days and fire conditions could worsen further.
Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said in his assessment of the analysis that the fires show how extreme heat driven by climate change can lead to 'devastating national disasters'.
Humanity's continued burning of large amounts of coal, oil and natural gas is scorching our planet, making these conditions more dangerous and these massive fires more deadly and destructive.
Stiell called on all countries to transition more quickly from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources and to protect people from worsening climate impacts.
Clair Barnes, a researcher at the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London, said the fires are a clear sign that global warming is intensifying.
We have repeatedly seen how climate change increases the hot, dry and flammable conditions that are extremely conducive to wildfires. We are still early in the season and with another heatwave approaching, these findings are extremely alarming. These fires are not occurring in remote areas but very close to where people live. Every increase in temperature pushes us into uncharted territory.
