Climate change made fire conditions twice as likely in South Korea blazes, study finds
SEOUL, May 1 — Human-induced climate change made the ultra-dry and warm conditions that fanned South Korea's deadliest wildfires in history this March twice as likely and more intense, researchers said Thursday.
Vast swaths of the country's south-east were burned in a series of blazes in March, which killed 31 people and destroyed historic sites, including a some thousand-year-old temple site.
The affected area had been experiencing below-average rainfall for months and was then hit by strong winds, local officials said, following South Korea's hottest year on record in 2024.
The hot, dry and windy conditions that fed the flames were 'twice as likely and about 15 per cent more intense' due to human-caused climate change, said World Weather Attribution, a scientific network that studies the influence of global warming on extreme weather.
'South Korea's deadliest wildfires were made much more likely by climate change,' said Clair Barnes, a WWA researcher from the Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London.
Officials said at the time that the conditions made it very hard for conventional firefighting methods to control the blazes, which leapt from pine tree to pine tree across dried-out hillsides.
'These unprecedented conditions exposed the limits of even well-developed suppression systems,' WWA said in a report of its findings.
'With fires increasingly likely to exceed control capacity, the emphasis must shift toward proactive risk reduction,' it added.
More than 62 per cent of South Korea is covered in forest, the report said, with dense tree cover especially prominent along the eastern coast and in mountainous regions, landscapes that significantly influence how wildfires spread.
Around 11 per cent of South Korea's forested areas border human settlements, the study said.
'These areas are particularly susceptible to ignition and have accounted for nearly 30 per cent of wildfires recorded between 2016 and 2022.'
The researchers' findings were most conclusive regarding the increased likelihood of fire weather — which is measured by the Hot-Dry-Windy Index (HDWI) — and higher maximum temperatures.
But they found no attributable link between climate change and rainfall levels during the period surrounding the fires.
Fires rage
South Korea has few energy resources of its own and relies on imported coal — a cheap but dirty fuel — for around a third of the electricity powering it, according to figures from the International Energy Agency.
The inferno in March also laid bare the country's demographic crisis and regional disparities, as rural areas are both underpopulated and disproportionately home to senior citizens.
Many of the dead were seniors, and experts have warned that it will be hard for people to rebuild their lives in the burn zone.
In the weeks and months since, South Korea has recorded a string of wildfires.
In April, helicopters were deployed to contain a wildfire within the DMZ, the buffer zone separating the South from nuclear-armed North Korea.
This week, more than 2,000 people were forced to evacuate after wildfires occurred in parts of the south-eastern city of Daegu, after a blaze broke out on Mount Hamji in the region.
WWA is a pioneer in attribution science, which uses peer-reviewed methods to quickly assess the possible influence of climate change on extreme weather events.
This allows a comparison of observations from today's climate, with some 1.3°Celsius of warming, against computer simulations that consider the climate before humanity started burning fossil fuels in the 1800s. — AFP
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The Star
20-05-2025
- The Star
Where the rain brings fear
ARMED with brushes and paint, volunteers touch up houses left standing after devastating floods last year that killed nearly 200 people and displaced half a million in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre. As residents continue to repair damage a year after Rio Grande do Sul's worst- ever natural calamity, they worry that not enough is being done to buttress the city against another such catastrophe, which experts say is made ever more likely by climate change. In late April and early May 2024, three months' worth of rain fell on the wealthy state, of which Porto Alegre is the capital, in just 10 days. The brunt of the deluge was felt in the city of 1.3 million people located on the shores of Lake Guaiba, which is fed by four rivers. Scientists of the World Weather Attribution later concluded that climate change had doubled the likelihood of the 'extremely rare event' – the kind expected to occur only once every 100 to 250 years. View of houses painted by artists from the Paredes com Proposito (Purposeful Walls) project at the Menino Deus neighbourhood in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. — AFP With recovery work still under way, another storm hit the city in March – less severe this time, but again flooding roads, felling trees and knocking out power. 'Nowadays, the rain brings fear and insecurity,' said Jotape Pax, a Porto Alegre resident and urban artist behind the volunteer restoration project. When last year's mega-storm hit, Porto Alegre was reliant on a faulty barrier of walls and dykes that had been designed in the 1960s. Due to poor maintenance, the walls were cracked and the gates were held up with sandbags, according to Mima Feltrin, a flood specialist at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Of the 23 water drainage pumps, 19 failed during the floods, she said. A year later, only two have been fixed. 'It's very worrying because, so far, what we've seen are mostly emergency measures,' said Feltrin, pointing to 'a major gap' in infrastructure reinforcement. The UN Environment Programme says developing countries will need as much as US$387bil per year by 2030 for projects to adapt to unavoidable climate change, including building sea walls and planting drought-resistant crops. Poli, a resident of the Sarandi neighbourhood, speaking during an interview in Porto Alegre. — AFP In 2020, only US$28bil had been forthcoming. Last year, a report by the Climate Policy Initiative, a research NGO, found that Brazil was spending about US$2.7bil per year to prepare for worsening floods and droughts – not nearly enough, according to experts. The Institute of Hydraulic Research at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul concluded in a study last December that many deaths in Porto Alegre could have been prevented with an early alert and evacuation system. In a multi-million dollar lawsuit, the municipality stands accused of 'omissions' that led to flood protection system failures, according to the prosecutor's office. Mayor Sebastiao Melo said a climate action plan will be presented to the municipal legislature this year, with provision for an early warning system. The plan also envisions work to reinforce existing dykes and build new ones, the mayor said, while urban drainage systems are already being upgraded. Feltrin said Porto Alegre needs to completely renew its flood containment system, possibly by looking at solutions applied in other low-lying areas such as New York and the Netherlands. View of the mud-covered Sao Jose neighbourhood following the devastating floods, in Lajeado, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, last year. — AFP 'It is important to have flood gates, but also parks designed to absorb water,' she said. At Porto Alegre's central market, a plaque recalls the flooding that had completely submerged the historic building. It is bustling once again, and with changes such as furniture made of water-resistant stainless steel rather than wood. 'With climate change, this is going to happen more and more often. It scares us a lot, but we are working to be better prepared,' said Nadja Melo, 45, who runs a market eatery. For others, it has been tougher to bounce back. Aerial view of the flooded surroundings of the public market in downtown Porto Alegre, last year. — AFP In one of Porto Alegre's hardest-hit neighbourhoods, Sarandi, dozens of families have been ordered to leave or risk having their homes flooded again in a high-risk zone. 'It is very difficult to start over,' said Claudir Poli, a 42-year-old with two prosthetic legs, a wife and three children, complaining that aid funding is not enough to rehouse his family. — AFP > This story is part of The 89 Percent Project, an initiative of the global journalism collaboration Covering Climate Now.
Malay Mail
01-05-2025
- Malay Mail
Climate change made fire conditions twice as likely in South Korea blazes, study finds
SEOUL, May 1 — Human-induced climate change made the ultra-dry and warm conditions that fanned South Korea's deadliest wildfires in history this March twice as likely and more intense, researchers said Thursday. Vast swaths of the country's south-east were burned in a series of blazes in March, which killed 31 people and destroyed historic sites, including a some thousand-year-old temple site. The affected area had been experiencing below-average rainfall for months and was then hit by strong winds, local officials said, following South Korea's hottest year on record in 2024. The hot, dry and windy conditions that fed the flames were 'twice as likely and about 15 per cent more intense' due to human-caused climate change, said World Weather Attribution, a scientific network that studies the influence of global warming on extreme weather. 'South Korea's deadliest wildfires were made much more likely by climate change,' said Clair Barnes, a WWA researcher from the Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London. Officials said at the time that the conditions made it very hard for conventional firefighting methods to control the blazes, which leapt from pine tree to pine tree across dried-out hillsides. 'These unprecedented conditions exposed the limits of even well-developed suppression systems,' WWA said in a report of its findings. 'With fires increasingly likely to exceed control capacity, the emphasis must shift toward proactive risk reduction,' it added. More than 62 per cent of South Korea is covered in forest, the report said, with dense tree cover especially prominent along the eastern coast and in mountainous regions, landscapes that significantly influence how wildfires spread. Around 11 per cent of South Korea's forested areas border human settlements, the study said. 'These areas are particularly susceptible to ignition and have accounted for nearly 30 per cent of wildfires recorded between 2016 and 2022.' The researchers' findings were most conclusive regarding the increased likelihood of fire weather — which is measured by the Hot-Dry-Windy Index (HDWI) — and higher maximum temperatures. But they found no attributable link between climate change and rainfall levels during the period surrounding the fires. Fires rage South Korea has few energy resources of its own and relies on imported coal — a cheap but dirty fuel — for around a third of the electricity powering it, according to figures from the International Energy Agency. The inferno in March also laid bare the country's demographic crisis and regional disparities, as rural areas are both underpopulated and disproportionately home to senior citizens. Many of the dead were seniors, and experts have warned that it will be hard for people to rebuild their lives in the burn zone. In the weeks and months since, South Korea has recorded a string of wildfires. In April, helicopters were deployed to contain a wildfire within the DMZ, the buffer zone separating the South from nuclear-armed North Korea. This week, more than 2,000 people were forced to evacuate after wildfires occurred in parts of the south-eastern city of Daegu, after a blaze broke out on Mount Hamji in the region. WWA is a pioneer in attribution science, which uses peer-reviewed methods to quickly assess the possible influence of climate change on extreme weather events. This allows a comparison of observations from today's climate, with some 1.3°Celsius of warming, against computer simulations that consider the climate before humanity started burning fossil fuels in the 1800s. — AFP
Malay Mail
01-05-2025
- Malay Mail
Climate change made fire conditions twice as likely in South Korea blazes: study
SEOUL, May 1 — Human-induced climate change made the ultra-dry and warm conditions that fanned South Korea's deadliest wildfires in history this March twice as likely and more intense, researchers said Thursday. Vast swaths of the country's south-east were burned in a series of blazes in March, which killed 31 people and destroyed historic sites, including a some thousand-year-old temple site. The affected area had been experiencing below-average rainfall for months and was then hit by strong winds, local officials said, following South Korea's hottest year on record in 2024. The hot, dry and windy conditions that fed the flames were 'twice as likely and about 15 per cent more intense' due to human-caused climate change, said World Weather Attribution, a scientific network that studies the influence of global warming on extreme weather. 'South Korea's deadliest wildfires were made much more likely by climate change,' said Clair Barnes, a WWA researcher from the Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London. Officials said at the time that the conditions made it very hard for conventional firefighting methods to control the blazes, which leapt from pine tree to pine tree across dried-out hillsides. 'These unprecedented conditions exposed the limits of even well-developed suppression systems,' WWA said in a report of its findings. 'With fires increasingly likely to exceed control capacity, the emphasis must shift toward proactive risk reduction,' it added. More than 62 per cent of South Korea is covered in forest, the report said, with dense tree cover especially prominent along the eastern coast and in mountainous regions, landscapes that significantly influence how wildfires spread. Around 11 per cent of South Korea's forested areas border human settlements, the study said. 'These areas are particularly susceptible to ignition and have accounted for nearly 30 per cent of wildfires recorded between 2016 and 2022.' The researchers' findings were most conclusive regarding the increased likelihood of fire weather — which is measured by the Hot-Dry-Windy Index (HDWI) — and higher maximum temperatures. But they found no attributable link between climate change and rainfall levels during the period surrounding the fires. Fires rage South Korea has few energy resources of its own and relies on imported coal — a cheap but dirty fuel — for around a third of the electricity powering it, according to figures from the International Energy Agency. The inferno in March also laid bare the country's demographic crisis and regional disparities, as rural areas are both underpopulated and disproportionately home to senior citizens. Many of the dead were seniors, and experts have warned that it will be hard for people to rebuild their lives in the burn zone. In the weeks and months since, South Korea has recorded a string of wildfires. In April, helicopters were deployed to contain a wildfire within the DMZ, the buffer zone separating the South from nuclear-armed North Korea. This week, more than 2,000 people were forced to evacuate after wildfires occurred in parts of the south-eastern city of Daegu, after a blaze broke out on Mount Hamji in the region. WWA is a pioneer in attribution science, which uses peer-reviewed methods to quickly assess the possible influence of climate change on extreme weather events. This allows a comparison of observations from today's climate, with some 1.3°Celsius of warming, against computer simulations that consider the climate before humanity started burning fossil fuels in the 1800s. — AFP
