Thu Sep 26 15:00:01 UTC 2024: ## South America Faces Growing Threat of Simultaneous Extreme Heat, Drought, and Fire Risk

**Santiago, Chile** – A new study published in *Communications Earth & Environment* reveals a concerning trend in South America: the number of days experiencing simultaneous extreme heat, drought, and high fire risk has tripled since 1970 in some regions. This alarming increase in compound climate extremes poses significant threats to ecosystems, economies, and human health across the continent.

Researchers led by Raúl Cordero analyzed climate data from 1971 to 2022 across South America, focusing on grid cells approximately 30 by 30 kilometers in size. They identified a significant increase in the frequency of these simultaneous extremes, particularly in the Venezuela-Colombia border region, the northern Amazon, and the north of the Río de la Plata basin. In some areas, the number of such days has escalated from less than 20 to as many as 70 per year.

The study also highlighted a growing year-to-year variability of these compound events. The influence of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) was also evident, with El Niño phases leading to increased fire risk in the northern Amazon and La Niña phases escalating fire risk in central South America.

The authors warn that increased fire activity and dry extremes pose serious public health hazards and contribute to further warming through the release of black carbon into the atmosphere. They also emphasize the disproportionate impact of these extreme events on vulnerable rural and indigenous communities.

The study calls for greater policy focus on mitigating these compound extremes in South America. Dr. Cordero stressed the urgency of addressing this growing threat, “We need to understand the impacts of these simultaneous extremes and develop adaptation strategies to protect our populations and ecosystems.”

This research underscores the critical need for proactive measures to mitigate climate change and adapt to its growing impacts on vulnerable regions like South America.

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