Climate change fuels the destruction of world's oldest trees

In January 2026, severe wildfires affected central-southern Chile and northern Patagonia in Argentina, driven by temperatures above 38°C, drought, and winds of 40–50 km/h. The fires destroyed at least 1,000 homes in Chile, killed 23 people, and burned over 109,000 hectares across both countries, impacting the UNESCO world heritage site Los Alerces National Park. An attribution study using the hot-dry-windy index (HDWI) found that these conditions, typically 1-in-5-year events, were made more likely by human-induced climate change by a factor of approximately 3 in Chile and 2.5 in Patagonia. Additionally, fire-season rainfall intensity decreased by about 25% in Chile and 20% in Patagonia. The study highlights that nonnative monocultural pine plantations increased flammability and that natural variability, such as La Niña and the Southern Annular Mode, further enhanced the hot and dry conditions.

• Human-induced climate change significantly increased the likelihood of the fire weather conditions observed in January 2026. In the affected Chilean region, the likelihood of such an event increased by a factor of about 3, while in Patagonia, it increased by a factor of about 2.5.
• Preceding fire-season rainfall intensity has decreased due to climate change, with a reduction of approximately 25% in the Chilean region and 20% in the Patagonia region.
• The use of nonnative needleleaf trees, specifically monocultural pinus radiata plantations, elevated wildfire risk because of their flammability, dense stands, and similar fuel structure.
• The wildfires caused extensive damage: in Chile, at least 1,000 homes were destroyed, 23 people died, and over 64,000 hectares burned; in Argentine Patagonia, over 45,000 hectares were consumed and at least 3,000 people were displaced.
• Natural climate variability, including the Southern Annular Mode and La Niña, contributed to the severity of the event by promoting anticyclonic circulation anomalies that favored hot and dry conditions.

APA

World Weather Attribution (2026). Climate change fuels the destruction of world's oldest trees. https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/climate-change-fuels-the-destruction-of-worlds-oldest-trees/

Chicago

World Weather Attribution. Climate change fuels the destruction of world's oldest trees. 2026. https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/climate-change-fuels-the-destruction-of-worlds-oldest-trees/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Weather Attribution |title=Climate change fuels the destruction of world's oldest trees |date=11 February 2026 |url=https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/climate-change-fuels-the-destruction-of-worlds-oldest-trees/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldweatherattribution2026climate, author = {{World Weather Attribution}}, title = {{Climate change fuels the destruction of world's oldest trees}}, institution = {World Weather Attribution}, year = {2026}, month = feb, url = {https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/climate-change-fuels-the-destruction-of-worlds-oldest-trees/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }