Recent research has established that climate change significantly contributed to the increased likelihood of the devastating Los Angeles fires in January, killing 28 people and destroying thousands of structures. The study highlights that greenhouse gas emissions have made hot, dry conditions and fierce winds 35 percent more likely. With the climate worsening, such extreme weather may recur every 17 years. The findings stem from the World Weather Attribution initiative, which analyzes climate impact on disasters. With further warming, fire risk could escalate even more rapidly.
"Realistically, this was a perfect storm when it comes to conditions for fire disasters," John Abatzoglou, professor of climatology at the University of California, Merced, said in a press call today.
In today’s climate, the extreme weather that drove January infernos can be expected about every 17 years, according to the study.
The study was conducted by the World Weather Attribution initiative, an international collaboration of scientists that researches the role that climate change plays in disasters around the world.
If the planet warms by another 1.3 degrees Celsius, which could happen in 75 years under current policies, the kind of weather that exacerbated the fires this month becomes another 35 percent more probable.
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