"The three wildfires that have devastated large parts of the Los Angeles city and surrounding areas in the United States since January 7, 2025, occurred due to rare meteorological conditions enhanced by global warming and consequent climate change, mainly due to a ‘hydroclimate whiplash’.
The region affected by the fires was 5 degrees Celsius warmer, up to 15 per cent drier and up to 20 per cent windier.
“We ascribe the strengthened winds, higher temperature and drier conditions triggering January 2025 California wildfires to human-driven climate change, and natural climate variability likely played a minor role”, said researchers.
The extreme dry conditions in the current season were preceded by a predominantly wet season in early 2024, which had aided the growth of vegetation.
This creates a ‘hydroclimate whiplash’ condition wherein an extremely wet season is succeeded by an extremely dry season, according to a research paper published in the journal Nature Reviews Earth & Environment on January 9, 2025. Moreover, the dry conditions in California frequently overlap with the Santa Ana winds season, creating the perfect conditions for intense wildfires.