Some of world’s oldest trees hit by climate-fuelled wildfires in Patagonia | Wildfires
The climate crisis has sparked deadly wildfires that have killed 23 people in Chile and devastated forests in Argentina that are home to some of the world’s oldest trees, scientists have found.
The hot, dry and windy conditions that allowed fires to spread across large areas in January were made about three times more likely by global warming, researchers from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) consortium found.
Parts of Chile and Argentina are experiencing significantly drier summers due to human-caused carbon emissions, with precipitation now 25% lower than in early summer in Chile and 20% lower in the affected region of Patagonia.
Severe wildfires plunged Chile’s Biobío and Ñuble regions into a “state of disaster” in mid-January and killed 23 people, destroyed more than 1,000 homes and forced 52,000 people to flee. The fires were caused by temperatures above 37°C and strong winds.
In Argentina, wildfires broke out in early January, affecting the UNESCO-listed Los Alerces National Park in Patagonia, which is home to ancient alerce trees that can live more than 3,000 years. The damage is believed to have been compounded by deep budget cuts to fire services by the government led by Javier Milei, who has called the climate crisis a “socialist lie”.
Dr Juan Antonio Rivera, from the National Scientific and Technical Research Council in Mendoza, Argentina, who is part of the WWA team, said: “The ancient forests have been devastated, as have the unique biodiversity of the region. They are ancient giants that have remained intact for thousands of years.
“Unfortunately, with a government that does not understand climate change and its links to human activities, and where nature is secondary in terms of priorities, wildfires end up having larger impacts than they should. The drying of our landscapes is no longer a projection but a crisis that requires an urgent response to protect our unique biodiversity and the people of our region.”
Dr Clair Barnes, from Imperial College London, who is also part of the WWA team, said: “Our analysis shows a clear and dangerous imprint of climate change on these fires. By burning fossil fuels, we have essentially loaded the dice, making the conditions for these devastating fires more likely.”
Scientists have said the overeating of extreme weather will continue to increase until humanity stops burning fossil fuels.
The study used peer-reviewed methods and data from weather records and climate models to determine the extent to which hot, dry and windy conditions were more likely due to global warming.
The situation in Chile has been made worse by the plantations of non-native trees, which are more flammable than native trees. “These plantations are located right next to settlements, as was seen in Valparaíso in 2024,” said Mauricio Santos-Vega, of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Climate Center. Wildfires ravaged Valparaíso and other nearby areas in 2024, killing at least 131 people.
