South Korea's deadly fires made twice as likely by climate change, researchers say
By David Stanway
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -South Korea's worst ever wildfires in March were made twice as likely as a result of climate change and such disasters could become even more frequent if temperatures continue to rise, scientists said on Thursday.
Fires in the country's southeast blazed for nearly a week, killing 32 people and destroying around 5,000 buildings before they were brought under control in late March.
The fires burned through 104,000 hectares (257,000 acres) of land, making them nearly four times more extensive than South Korea's previous worst fire season 25 years ago.
The hot, dry and windy conditions were made twice as likely and 15% more intense as a result of climate change, a team of 15 researchers with the World Weather Attribution group said after combining observational data with climate modelling.
South Korea normally experiences cold dry winters and rapid increases in temperature in March and April, making it vulnerable to fires at that time of year, said June-Yi Lee of the Research Center for Climate Sciences at Pusan National University.
This year, average temperatures from March 22-26 were 10 degrees Celsius higher than usual in the southeast, and patterns of low and high pressure to the north and south generated the powerful winds that helped the fire spread, she told a briefing.
"This year, the size of the impact was very extreme … because of the dry weather, the heat and the high temperatures - a perfect storm of conditions," she said.
The weather that drove the fires could become even more common if global warming continues on its current trajectory and rises another 1.3 degrees by 2100.
"The models project on average a further increase of about 5% in intensity and a further doubling of the likelihood of similarly extreme events," said Clair Barnes of the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London (ICL).
The blazes also raised concerns that South Korea's extensive tree planting programme since the 1970s had made the country more fire-prone, and forest management needs to adjust to meet the challenges of extreme heat, said Theo Keeping at ICL's Leverhulme Centre for Wildfires.
"Once a wildfire event is extreme enough, it can't be put out with drops from planes and helicopters or from spraying water from the ground … so we need to manage risk before these events happen," he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
FEMA's Hurricane Response in Jeopardy as New Leader Stumbles
The start of hurricane season is already here, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) finds itself in a storm of its own making. FEMA staff were reportedly left baffled when agency head David Richardson claimed to be unaware that the U.S. has a hurricane season. The comment, made during a recent all-hands briefing, sparked immediate confusion and concern within the disaster response agency, according to sources familiar with the situation. Reuters reported that Richardson's remark comes at a critical time, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasting up to 10 hurricanes this year. FEMA has been facing internal challenges, including staff cuts and a reduction in hurricane preparation exercises, which have raised concerns about the agency's capacity to respond to natural disasters. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA's parent agency, insisted that Richardson's comment was a joke and assured the public that FEMA is prepared. However, the agency's shifting internal dynamics and lack of clear strategic guidance tell a different story. Richardson, who has no prior disaster response experience, took the helm at FEMA in May after his predecessor, Cameron Hamilton, was abruptly dismissed. The new head's confusing statements about the agency's disaster plans have only fueled anxiety. Richardson originally promised an updated disaster response plan by late May but reversed course during Monday's briefing, stating there would be no new plan this year. This shift has reportedly left FEMA staff uncertain about the agency's direction during what is expected to be an above-normal hurricane season. Hurricane response is no joke. The combination of staff reductions, training cutbacks, and now mixed signals from leadership has Democrats and FEMA insiders sounding alarms. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Homeland Security Committee ranking member Bennie Thompson have both criticized Richardson, questioning his qualifications to lead the agency. With over 2,000 FEMA employees already gone amid the DOGE layoffs and Richardson's inexperience in disaster management, the agency's readiness to respond to a major hurricane this season is under serious scrutiny. As FEMA's new leader scrambles to steady the ship, the question remains: Will the agency be able to weather the storm? FEMA's Hurricane Response in Jeopardy as New Leader Stumbles first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 3, 2025
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Fact Check: FEMA's acting head David Richardson said he did not know about US hurricane season
Claim: Acting head of Federal Emergency Management Agency David Richardson said he did not know the U.S. had a hurricane season each year. Rating: Context: An official from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, later said Richardson was joking when he said these words. According to rumors that spread online in early June 2025, David Richardson, the acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said he did not know the U.S. had a hurricane season each year. For example, a user posted a video on Facebook (archived) claiming Richardson said this during an all-staff meeting at FEMA, which "sent alarm bells" among the rank and file: As of this writing, the post had amassed more than 51,000 likes and 2,800 comments. The claim appeared on other platforms, including X, Bluesky Reddit and TikTok. The claims stemmed from a June 2, 2025, Reuters report that Richardson had said he was not aware the U.S. had a hurricane season, which runs each year from June 1 to Nov 30. Citing four anonymous sources who had direct knowledge of the situation, Reuters reported that Richardson made this remark during a staff briefing. Snopes was able to confirm that Richardson said this, so the claim is true. However, an official at the Department of Homeland Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, said in an email that he had done so in jest. The report fueled preexisting concerns that the agency was not prepared for the 2025 hurricane season following Richardson's appointment in May. On May 16, 2025, CBS News reported an internal review had shown that following staff and budget cuts, FEMA was not ready to face a season the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expected to be above normal for hurricane activity. The review, CBS said, was dated May 12, 2025. The DHS official said in the email that rumors of unpreparedness were false: Despite meanspirited attempts to falsely frame a joke as policy, there is no uncertainty about what FEMA will be doing this Hurricane Season. FEMA is laser focused on disaster response, and protecting the American people. It's not a secret that Under Secretary [Kristi] Noem and Acting Administrator Richardson, FEMA is shifting from bloated, DC-centric dead weight to a lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief for their citizens. The old processes are being replaced because they failed Americans in real emergencies for decades. Under Secretary Noem's leadership, and the efforts of Acting Administrator Richardson, FEMA is fully activated in preparation for Hurricane Season. "David Richardson." 8 May 2025, Accessed 3 June 2025. Douglas, Leah, et al. "FEMA Staff Baffled after Head Said He Was Unaware of US Hurricane Season, Sources Say." Reuters, 2 June 2025, Accessed 3 June 2025.. Archived: Kaplan, Michael, and Nicole Sganga. "FEMA 'Not Ready' for Hurricane Season, Internal Review Says." CBS News, 16 May 2025, Accessed 3 June 2025. "NOAA Predicts Above-Normal 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season." NOAA, 22 May 2025, Accessed 3 June 2025.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Canadian wildfire smoke spreads into US Midwest
By Erica Dischino, Patrick Wingrove and Amanda Stephenson DULUTH, Minnesota (Reuters) -Smoke from wildfires burning in three Canadian provinces is spreading into the U.S. Upper Midwest, stirring memories of the severe pollution that drifted south from Canada two years ago during that country's worst fire season on record. The particulate matter pollution caused by the smoke is already drifting into Minnesota and neighboring states. It is expected to make its way to New York and other East Coast cities in coming days, posing a health risk to the tens of millions who live in those regions. "Airborne particulate matter is the most serious environmental health risk we know of," said Doug Brugge, a public health researcher at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. "It causes cardiovascular, respiratory and neurological harm, and these plumes of smoke are at very high levels compared to what we're usually exposed to in the U.S." Scores of wildfires have swept across Canada since the start of May, forcing thousands of evacuations and disrupting crude oil production in the country. There were more than 200 active fires as of Monday, 106 of which were out of control, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. So far, 1.9 million hectares (4.7 million acres) have burned, mostly in the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Still, the current crisis does not yet come close to rivaling 2023, when 17 million hectares burned. One of the worst spots in the U.S. for air quality on Tuesday morning as a result of the fires was Ely, Minnesota, near the Manitoba border. It registered a "hazardous" air quality index reading of 336, according to IQAir, a website that monitors air quality around the world. An air quality rating of below 50 is considered to be "good," and readings between 100 and 300 are deemed "unhealthy" to "very unhealthy," while higher than that is considered "hazardous," according to the website. In Duluth, Minnesota, the rating stood at 309 at midmorning Tuesday, while in Flin Flon, Manitoba, about 800 miles (1,300 km) to the north and in one of the areas where the Canadian wildfires are concentrated, the AQI was at 359. In IQAir's list of the world's major cities, Minneapolis ranked as second worst air quality, with a 210 reading, trailing only Kuwait City, which led the list with a 318 reading. VULNERABLE PEOPLE Children, the elderly and people with chronic cardiac, respiratory and other illnesses are most vulnerable to the effects of the smoke, especially those with cardiovascular problems, according to Brugge. "The risk of hospitalization and death is low in people who are healthy and at a young age," he said, adding that there is still evidence that air pollution exposure increases blood pressure and inflammation for those people. Experts have said that particulates from wildfire smoke enter most buildings in high concentrations, although the problem is greater in older structures. The concentration of wildfire pollutants indoors is on average about half of what it is outdoors, but if a building is not well sealed, the concentration may be up to 70% of what it is outside, experts have said. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency advises that during wildfire smoke events, people avoid indoor activities that put more fine particles into the air, such as smoking cigarettes, frying or broiling food, burning candles or incense, and vacuuming without a HEPA filter. Exposure to wildfire smoke may also increase lung cancer patients' risk of dying from their disease, particularly among non-smokers, although the effect may be mitigated by certain cancer treatments, according to a large California study presented last month. Nonetheless, some farmers believe the effects of the fires are not all negative. In online forums like Facebook, some farmers have said some of their best yields ever came from years with a heavy pall of wildfire smoke from Canada. The smoke can protect vulnerable crops from scorching sunlight, they think.
