Climate change tripled wildfire risk that killed 23 and destroyed ancient patagonian forests

Devastating wildfires that swept through Patagonia in January were three times more likely to occur due to climate change, according to new research from the World Weather Attribution consortium. The blazes claimed 23 lives in Chile and caused unprecedented destruction to ancient forest ecosystems in Argentina that house some of Earth’s oldest living trees.

Scientists found that global heating created the perfect storm of conditions—extreme heat, drought, and powerful winds—that allowed the fires to spread rapidly across vast areas of the region. These climate-amplified weather patterns turned what might have been manageable fires into deadly infernos that overwhelmed firefighting efforts and evacuation procedures.

The loss extends far beyond the tragic human toll. The affected Argentine forests contain millennia-old trees that serve as living records of climate history and represent irreplaceable biodiversity. Some of these ancient giants have survived for thousands of years, making their destruction particularly devastating from both ecological and scientific perspectives.

This latest research adds to mounting evidence that climate change is dramatically increasing wildfire risk worldwide. The WWA findings demonstrate how rising global temperatures don’t just make fires more likely—they can multiply the probability by several times, turning rare extreme events into increasingly common disasters. As climate change continues to intensify weather extremes, regions like Patagonia face growing threats to both human communities and invaluable natural heritage that took millennia to develop.