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2d ago

Climate Change Made Iberian Heatwaves Driving Wildfires 40 Times More Likely, Study Finds

Researchers say conditions that once were rare now recur about every 15 years.

Eine Kuh steht auf verbranntem Weideland auf einer Hochgebirgsrinderfarm
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Der menschengemachte Klimawandel sorgt laut einer Analyse von Forschern für eine Vervierzigfachung des Risikos für Hitzewellen mit schweren Waldbränden wie jüngst in Spanien und Portugal.

Overview

  • World Weather Attribution estimates these heatwaves are about 30% more intense because of human-caused warming.
  • Spain’s August hot spell lasted 16 days and ran 4.6°C hotter than previous heatwaves, according to Aemet.
  • EFFIS reports more than 380,000 hectares have burned in Spain this year, the worst since 2006, and over 280,000 hectares in Portugal, nearly triple its average.
  • Spain’s recent heatwaves are linked to more than 1,100 deaths, the Carlos III Health Institute estimates.
  • Scientists highlight rapidly dried vegetation, land abandonment and declining traditional agriculture as factors that increase fuels, with extreme fires capable of generating their own winds.