South Korea's deadly fires made twice as likely by climate change, researchers say

Climate change has significantly increased the likelihood of South Korea's wildfires, with the March 2023 fires being twice as probable as previous extremes, and they could become even more frequent with rising temperatures. The catastrophic blaze, which killed 32 people and destroyed nearly 5,000 buildings, spread over nearly a week across 104,000 hectares of land—nearly four times larger than the country's worst fire season in 1997. Extreme heat, dryness, and strong winds from low and high-pressure systems played key roles, with climate models projecting further increases in fire intensity and frequency if global warming continues at current rates.