Why is Latin America on fire? It’s not just climate change, scientists say (www.nature.com)

submitted 8 months ago by Ninjazzon@infosec.pub to c/earthscience@mander.xyz

0 comments fedilink hide all child comments

In Chile, more than 130 people have died in this year’s wildfires — the deadliest in the nation’s history. In Colombia last month, wildfire smoke billowed just outside Bogotá, defying the city’s reputation for cold, wet weather. And in Argentina, a wildfire ravaged a forest that is listed as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations cultural organization UNESCO.

These wildfires add to the destruction from record-setting fires in the Amazon in October 2023. This is not a normal pattern: in many parts of the region, wildfires are not part of the landscape’s natural history, except for blazes caused by “occasional lightning strikes”, says Francisco de la Barrera, an environmental scientist at University of Concepción in Chile.

But scientists say that the flames have been fanned by a combination of a strong El Niño climate pattern, a profusion of non-native trees and climate change. Researchers warn that the same factors could put other cities on the continent at risk.

no comments (yet)

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

there doesn't seem to be anything here

this post was submitted on 15 Feb 2024

15 points (100.0% liked)

Earth, Environment, and Geosciences

1781 readers

13 users here now

Welcome to c/EarthScience @ Mander.xyz!

Notice Board

This is a work in progress, please don't mind the mess.

2023-06-13: We are looking for mods. Send a dm to @fossilesque@mander.xyz if interested!

What is geoscience?

Geoscience (also called Earth Science) is the study of Earth. Geoscience includes so much more than rocks and volcanoes, it studies the processes that form and shape Earth's surface, the natural resources we use, and how water and ecosystems are interconnected. Geoscience uses tools and techniques from other science fields as well, such as chemistry, physics, biology, and math! Read more...

Quick Facts

Rules

Don't throw mud. Be kind and remember the human.
Keep it rooted (on topic).
No spam.

Jobs

Teaching Resources

Tools

GitHub - RichardScottOZ/mineral-exploration-machine-learning: List of resources for mineral exploration and machine learning, generally with useful code and examples.

Climate