Australia’s wildfires have now been linked to climate change

Climate-influenced temperatures raised the wildfire risk by 30 percent

the Orroral Valley Fire in Australia

On the outskirts of Canberra, the Orroral Valley Fire blazed on January 28, 2020. New research suggests the recent record-breaking heat in southeastern Australia, which is linked to climate change, helped increase the region’s fire risk by at least 30 percent.

Nick-D/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Human-caused climate change made southeastern Australia’s devastating wildfires during 2019–2020 at least 30 percent more likely to occur, researchers report in a new study published online March 4.