The fires that tore through the Canadian province of Quebec between May and July were made at least twice as likely by climate change, scientists said on Tuesday.
Climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, also made the fires as much as 50% more intense, according to theby World Weather Attribution group, a global team of scientists that examines the role played by climate change in extreme weather.
"Climate change is greatly increasing the flammability of the fuel available for wildfires – this means that a single spark, regardless of its source, can rapidly turn into a blazing inferno," said Yan Boulanger, a research scientist at Natural Resources Canada. Rising global temperatures can yield more heatwaves, exacerbate drought and alter snow and rainfall patterns. This can dry out fuels, from grasses to trees, making them more likely to ignite and burn faster."This year, high temperatures led to the rapid thawing and disappearance of snow during May, particularly in eastern Quebec, resulting in unusually early wildfires," said environmental scientist Philippe Gachon of the University of Quebec in Montreal.
Scientists reviewed weather data, including temperature, windspeed, humidity, and precipitation, and used computer models to assess how climate change had altered fire weather this year, comparing it to preindustrial climate.More than so far have burned this year, amounting to roughly 4% of Canada's entire forest area, and more than six times the four-decade average of 2.3 million hectares , according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
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