Scientists have revealed that climate change caused by industrial activities has increased the risk of heatwaves by 40 times, similar to those that resulted in deadly fires in Spain and Portugal last August.
The Iberian Peninsula, located in the southwestern part of Europe, experienced unprecedented heat throughout August, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in many areas.
This situation led to widespread wildfires, particularly in northern Portugal and western and northwestern Spain, resulting in several fatalities and the evacuation of thousands.
European scientists involved in a study conducted by the international network “World Weather Attribution” concluded that climate change attributed to fossil fuel combustion has made weather conditions conducive to wildfires approximately forty times more frequent and 30% more intense.
Theo Keeping, a researcher at Imperial College London, stated in a press release that without warming caused by industrial activities, such conducive weather for fires would occur only once every 500 years instead of every 15 years, as seen today.
Maya Vahlberg, an advisor at the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, noted other factors exacerbating the effects of climate change, including the displacement from villages, which has led to vast areas of land being less utilized than in the past.
She emphasized that the decline in traditional agricultural and pastoral practices limits the natural containment of vegetation, making previously inhabited and utilized lands more prone to ignition.
Since the start of heat record-keeping in 1975, the Spanish Meteorological Agency has registered 77 heatwaves in the country, six of which exceeded the prevailing average by four degrees or more. Five of these occurred since 2019.
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