"Wildfires are sweeping through Argentina's Patagonia region, consuming more than 450sq km (175sq miles) of native forests, including parts of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Los Alerces National Park. Thousands of people have been evacuated as flames spread through Chubut province, threatening ancient alerce trees, which can live for more than 3,600 years. The crisis has intensified criticism of President Javier Milei's aggressive austerity policies."
"Environmental advocates point to climate change as an exacerbating factor with Greenpeace's Hernan Giardini saying: To continue denying or underestimating the effects of climate change, which science and the ecological movement have long warned about, is a political irresponsibility that will be paid for by forests and homes. Milei, who has called climate change a socialist lie and is considering withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, faces mounting pressure as the fires have now destroyed an area more than twice the size of Buenos Aires."
Wildfires are sweeping through Argentina's Patagonia, consuming more than 450 sq km of native forests and affecting parts of Los Alerces National Park. Thousands of people have been evacuated as flames spread through Chubut province, threatening ancient alerce trees that can live over 3,600 years. The burned area has already surpassed last summer's entire fire season damage of 325 sq km. The National Fire Management Service's budget was cut by 71 percent in real terms compared with last year. Officials declared a state of emergency and allocated about $69m for firefighting. Environmental advocates cite climate change as an exacerbating factor while critics say austerity prioritized fiscal balance over emergency preparedness.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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