Climate change made devastating patagonian wildfires up to three times more likely, scientists confirm

A new scientific analysis has definitively linked human-caused climate change to the catastrophic wildfires that recently ravaged Chile and Argentina’s Patagonia region, finding that global warming made the extreme fire conditions significantly more probable than they would have been naturally.

According to a report released by World Weather Attribution, a leading scientific initiative that investigates connections between climate change and extreme weather events, the hot, dry, and windy conditions that fueled last month’s deadly Chilean wildfires were made approximately 200% more likely due to human-generated greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, the high-risk fire conditions currently driving blazes through southern Argentina were found to be 150% more likely because of climate change.

The findings underscore how rising global temperatures are creating increasingly dangerous wildfire seasons across South America’s southern cone. The recent fires in central and southern Chile proved particularly devastating, while Argentina continues to battle active blazes racing through its southern regions. These Patagonian wildfires represent just the latest example of how climate change is intensifying fire risk worldwide, creating conditions that make extreme burning events not just possible, but increasingly probable.

The research adds to mounting scientific evidence that human activities are fundamentally altering weather patterns and creating more frequent and severe natural disasters. As greenhouse gas concentrations continue rising, scientists warn that such extreme fire conditions may become the new normal for fire-prone regions like Patagonia.