Climate change boosted odds of wildfire weather in Spain and France, researchers say

• Climate change made France’s wildfire weather twice as likely
• In Spain, similar fire conditions became about 20 times more likely, researchers report
• A pattern of wet winters followed by dry springs is pushing fire risk higher

BRUSSELS, July 31 — Human-driven climate change doubled the chances of the extreme conditions fueling wildfires in southwestern France, and made the weather behind fires in central Spain roughly 20 times more probable, scientists said Friday.

Ongoing blazes in Spain and France have forced hundreds of thousands to evacuate and burned through vast areas of land.