‘Astonishing’ Wildfires in Iberian Peninsula Fueled by Climate Change: Study

A rapid attribution study by the World Weather Attribution group concluded that fire-prone conditions which fueled recent wildfires in the Iberian Peninsula have been made 40 times more likely by climate change.

—

Human-caused climate change has made the hot, dry, and windy conditions that have fueled recent wildfires in Spain and Portugal about 40 times more likely, according to a new study by World Weather Attribution.

The fires broke out in late July and spread extremely rapidly, fueled by strong winds and exceptionally warm and dry conditions brought by a prolonged heatwave. In Spain, the heatwave lasted 16 days, bringing temperatures 4.6C higher than the historical long-term average. Since 1975, only six out of 77 heatwaves have had an anomaly of 4C or more, five of which occurred since 2019.

Clair Barnes, Researcher at the Centre for Environmental Policy Imperial College London and one of the study’s authors, described the size of the fires as “astonishing”. So far, more than 380,000 hectares have burned across Spain, nearly five times the annual average. In Portugal, fires spread across more than 260,000 hectares, almost 3% of its landmass and close to three times the country’s annual average, as per the study.

Barnes and 11 other World Weather Attribution researchers examined temperatures during the period between August 8 and 17, Spain’s hottest 10-day period since 1950. The group is known for its rapid assessments of the influence of human-caused climate change on extreme weather events like heatwaves.

They concluded that the 10-day heatwave, which created the perfect conditions for the fires to spread extremely rapidly, was 200 times more likely and 3C hotter because of human-made climate change.

“Hotter, drier and more flammable conditions are becoming more severe with climate change, and are giving rise to fires of unprecedented intensity,” said Barnes.

“Unfortunately, these fires are a sign of what is to come. With every fraction of a degree of warming, extreme, long-lasting heatwaves will continue to intensify, increasing the chance of huge wildfires like the ones that burned vast areas of the Iberian Peninsula.”

More on the topic: Spain Sees Highest Wildfire Emissions Since 2003 As Iberian Peninsula Burns

Europe’s Worst Wildfire Season on Record

Nearly one million hectares – equivalent to almost the land area of Kosovo – have burned across the European Union so far this year, making it the worst wildfire season since records began in 2006. Between January and now, European wildfires generated 39.4 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, more than triple the amount emitted during the same period of last year.

Globally, climate change has increased the wildfire season by roughly two weeks on average, mostly by enhancing the availability of fuel through heat and dry conditions.

Featured image: EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid/Flickr.