Climate change worsened likelihood of California wildfires: Report

The recent wildfires in California were worsened by climate change, a new report found.

The study, released Tuesday by the World Weather Attribution, found that human-caused climate change increased the chances of hot, dry and windy conditions in the area, which caused the fires to worsen.

The report highlighted how wildfires, typically part of a normal weather phenomenon that can even help some ecosystems, have been proven to be destructive in the fall and winter due to Santa Ana winds.

Earlier this month, Santa Ana winds rushed through parts of Los Angeles, causing multiple wildfires that destroyed entire neighborhoods. It’s being viewed as one of the most destructive and costly disasters in the state’s history.

The report stated that the wintery fires in California stand out because of how fast the fires spread and the challenges that responders faced when trying to extinguish them.

“Human-induced climate change is increasing wildfires in many regions of the world, as hot, dry and windy weather conditions increase the risk of fires both starting and spreading,” the report said.

The study said the likelihood and intensity of these weather incidents are projected to continue in the future as the planet gets warmer. The dry season has also gotten longer, meaning that, coupled with Santa Ana winds, it could fuel the spread of wildfires and make them “increasingly overlapping.”

“Given all these lines of evidence we have high confidence that human-induced climate change, primarily driven by the burning of fossil fuels, increased the likelihood of the devastating LA fires,” the report said.

A separate report by the World Weather Attribution found that the 10 deadliest extreme weather events over the last two decades were all intensified by human-caused climate change.

Climate Central and World Weather Attribution also found that climate change led to nearly six extra weeks of dangerous heat across the globe.