Climate change made deadly LA wildfires “more likely”, conclude leading scientists

nme.com:

World Weather Attribution, said that the hot, dry and windy conditions that drove fires in the Californian city were “35 per cent more likely due to warming caused primarily by the burning of oil, gas and coal.”The fires, which began on January 7, have left 28 people dead, more than 12,000 structures destroyed and saw the evacuation of more than 150,000 residents.Meanwhile, the number of music community members in the city being supported by MusiCares – the non-for-profit arm of The GRAMMYs – has more than doubled since the first week of the catastrophe.The burning of fossil fuels such as oil and gas is heating the planet, with the result a changing climate – which is seeing extreme weather events such as heatwaves, drought and become more frequent and more intense.World Weather Attirbution’s new study brought researchers together from countries including Brazil, The Netherlands, UK, the USA, Sweden and beyond to assess how climate change had propelled this month’s fires.The analysis said climate change is currently extending “fire-prone” conditions in Los Angeles by about “23 extra days a year” at the current global levels of heating.

They concluded the threat of “fire season” is becoming “longer and more dangerous”.The report also noted Los Angeles’ water infrastructure was unable to “keep up with the scale and extreme needs” of the emergency.

City officials spoke early in the disaster about how the scale of the fires had put significant stress on emergency services’ ability to respond.Authors of the study also had a stark warning for residents of LA – including its vibrant music community.