The main cause behind the severe wildfires that have been affecting western Europe since early this month is human-induced climate change, according to an analysis by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group of international scientists. The disasters in France and Spain claimed 3 lives, destroyed thousands of homes, and forced more than 300,000 people to evacuate.
The analysis shows that climate change increased the risk of wildfires by at least 20 times in Spain and at least 2 times in France. Under current climate conditions, weather events of this severity are expected to recur every 6 years in Spain and every 20 years in France.
Experts explained that a wet winter followed by a dry spring first caused vegetation to grow, and then the dried-out plants became perfect fuel for the fires. They warned 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 that 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 faster 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 frightening. These fires are not occurring in remote areas, but very close to where people live. Every increase in temperature pushes us into uncharted territory.
