Climate change doubled Canada wildfire likelihood

A rapid attribution study by World Weather Attribution found that human-caused climate change made the fire weather conditions behind Canada's massive summer wildfires twice as likely. The study focused on the Canada — Northwest Territories and northwestern Canada — Ontario, where major fires burned over 5,000 square miles and forced evacuations. Researchers compared current conditions to a pre-industrial climate and concluded that such extreme fire weather, once a once-in-a-lifetime event, now occurs roughly every six years in Canada — Ontario. The fires produced hazardous smoke that spread across Canada and the United States, choking cities like New York and prompting U.S. President Donald Trump to blame Canadian forest mismanagement and threaten punishment. Scientists, however, pointed to the United States' historical emissions as a key driver, noting that Canada has warmed 65% more than the U.S. in recent decades. The study, not yet peer-reviewed, underscores that adaptation alone is insufficient and calls for rapid reduction of fossil fuel use.