Climate change made LA wildfires ‘more likely’ according to international study

Posted By: EN Todayon: January 29, 2025In: Climate Change News

Climate change caused by human activity increases the risk of devastating fires, like the ones in Los Angeles, California,according to the World Weather Attribution (WWA) network. The fires left at least 29 dead and thousands homeless.

Human-driven climate change set the stage for the devastating Los Angeles wildfires by reducing rainfall, parching vegetation, and extending the dangerous overlap between flammable drought conditions and powerful Santa Ana winds, according to an analysis published Tuesday.

The study, conducted by dozens of researchers, concluded that the fire-prone conditions fueling the blazes were approximately 35 percent more likely due to global warming caused by burning fossil fuels.

“Climate change increased the risk of the devastating LA wildfires,” said Clair Barnes of Imperial College London, the lead author of the study by World Weather Attribution, an international academic collaboration.

“Drought conditions are increasingly pushing into winter, raising the likelihood of fires breaking out during strong Santa Ana winds that can transform small ignitions into deadly infernos.

“Without a faster transition away from planet-heating fossil fuels, California will continue to get hotter, drier, and more flammable.”

Fossil fuel rise drives planet closer to critical climate safety limit