Washington:

Human-driven climate change set the stage for the devastating Los Angeles wildfires by reducing rainfall, parching vegetation, and extending the dangerous overlap between flammable drought conditions and powerful Santa Ana winds, according to an analysis published Tuesday.

The study, conducted by dozens of researchers, concluded that the fire-prone conditions fueling the blazes were approximately 35 percent more likely due to global warming caused by burning fossil fuels.

“Climate change increased the risk of the devastating LA wildfires,” said Clair Barnes of Imperial College London, the lead author of the study by World Weather Attribution, an international academic collaboration.

“Drought conditions are increasingly pushing into winter, raising the likelihood of fires breaking out during strong Santa Ana winds that can transform small ignitions into deadly infernos.

“Without a faster transition away from planet-heating fossil fuels, California will continue to get hotter, drier, and more flammable.”

– Projected to worsen –

The study does not address the direct causes of the wildfires, which erupted around Los Angeles on January 7, killing at least 29 people and destroying more than 10,000 homes, the most destructive in the city’s history.

Investigators are probing the role of power company Southern California Edison in one of the blazes, the Eaton Fire.

Instead, researchers analyzed weather data and climate models to assess how such events have evolved under today’s climate, which has warmed approximately 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit (1.3 degrees Celsius) above pre-industrial levels.

Using peer-reviewed methods, they found that the hot, dry, and windy conditions were 1.35 times more likely due to climate change.

Looking ahead, the study warns that under current scenarios, where global warming reaches 4.7F (2.6C) by 2100, similar fire-weather events in January will become a further 35 percent more likely.

Historically, October through December rainfall has marked the end of wildfire season.

However, these rains have decreased in recent decades.

The study found that low rainfall across these months is now 2.4 times more likely during neutral El Nino conditions, leading to drier, flammable conditions persisting into the peak of the Santa Ana wind season in December and January.

– Areas of Uncertainty –

The relationship between climate change and Santa Ana winds —  which form in western deserts, then heat up and dry out as they flow down California’s mountains — remains unclear.

While most studies predict a decline in these winds as the climate warms, some suggest hot Santa Ana wind events and particularly strong years will persist.

This year’s fires followed two wet winters in 2022–2023 and 2023–2024, which spurred the growth of grass and brush. However, almost no rain this winter left the vegetation dry and highly flammable.

Globally, extreme shifts between very wet and very dry conditions, known as “precipitation whiplash,” are becoming more common. These swings are driven by a warmer atmosphere that can hold and release greater amounts of moisture, exacerbating weather extremes.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington, United States:

As fire-wrecked Los Angeles braces for a visit by President Donald Trump, many are worrying the mercurial Republican will yank the federal support the city needs to get back on its feet.

Trump is due in the shell-shocked city for a few hours on Friday afternoon, where he will be able to see for himself the devastation wrought by the deadly fires — damage whose repair will cost billions of dollars.

Former president Joe Biden was quick to pledge whatever was needed to deal with the disaster in the waning days of his administration.

But almost as soon as the fires erupted, Trump began sticking the boot in, lashing out at California Governor Gavin Newsom, and resurrecting an earlier hobbyhorse about water supplies.

“I don’t think we should give California anything until they let the water run down,” Trump said this week, emphasizing his false belief that there is a valve in northern California that can be turned to release billions of gallons (liters) of water in the rain-starved state.

Funding needed

Threats to withhold federal funds are worrisome to some of those who lost everything in the fires.

“I just can’t fathom that the government is going to let so many people (suffer)… that they’re not going to help them,” Sebastian Harrison told AFP.

This 59-year-old former actor lost his Malibu home in the blaze. He was not insured, unable to afford premiums that topped $40,000 a year.

Without government money, getting his life back on track might prove almost impossible, he fears.

In Altadena, a modest city further inland, as in the upscale Pacific Palisades, thousands of ruined buildings need to be cleared.

Federal cash granted by Biden for 180 days is intended to cover this.

But local authorities fret the White House’s new inhabitant might not honor that check.

“Everybody’s rushing to make sure the funds get here before Trump gets in office,” a local official told AFP last week, on condition of anonymity.

But, the person said, the demography of the disaster — which affected some very wealthy people as well as those of more modest means — gives hope that Trump won’t be able to abandon the region.

“Trump may think of Altadena as a bunch of low-life Democrats, but Pacific Palisades is a different story,” the source said.

“That’s the first zip code where he and other Republicans go to when they want to raise money in Los Angeles.”

“Principle of unity”

Pacific Palisades and the parts of Malibu it abuts are considerably less left-leaning than other parts of Los Angeles.

While the area has its share of Hollywood liberals, it also has property developers, businesspeople and other Republicans.

Among those who lost their homes was Mel Gibson, who Trump has just appointed to an ill-defined role as ambassador to Hollywood.

The new president’s visit to Los Angeles looks set to include a meeting with the state’s governor — whom Trump delights in calling Gavin “Newscum.”

There is no love lost between the two men, but Newsom has taken a more conciliatory approach in recent weeks.

“Historically, federal disaster aid has been provided without conditions, recognizing that political calculations or regional divides should not encumber relief efforts,” he wrote in a letter last week to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson.

“This principle of unity is at the heart of our nation’s resilience.”

But if the federal government cannot be cajoled into stumping up the funds needed for recovery and reconstruction, California says it is prepared to use the courts.

The state’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, said he found it “disheartening” that Trump and his allies were seeking to politicize tragedy.

“We have every expectation that federal action will be taken to support California and the hardworking Californians whose lives and livelihoods are at risk,” he told AFP.

“We have been preparing for the Trump administration for months, and we will not hesitate to act if we believe the president is violating the law.”

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Los Angeles County in the US has been battling devastating wildfires for the past few days. Today, half of the city is on fire. The inferno has ripped through more than 19,000 acres of Pacific Palisades and Malibu. The death toll from the wildfires has continued to climb with at least 10 people known to have died and that toll may grow. However, astonishingly, even amidst the natural calamity, LA’s air remains significantly cleaner than that of Delhi. 

The AQI in the US city was recorded at 154 today, which is far better than the air quality in the Indian capital. Delhi’s air quality continued in the “very poor” category. According to IMD, the AQI was recorded at 372 in Delhi today. 

This stark contrast highlights a troubling reality for Delhi, where poor air has become a daily struggle. Noting the same, an X user shared a side-by-side comparison of AQI recorded in Delhi and LA on Friday. “Half of LA is on fire, but the air is still cleaner than Delhi’s,” the user wrote. 

Take a look below: 

Half of LA is on fire, but the air is still cleaner than Delhi’s https://t.co/hQrRvjZFXI pic.twitter.com/AdLVYRkK4u

— Abhinav Kukreja (@kukreja_abhinav) January 9, 2025

In the comments section, several users pointed out that the air quality in LA is even better than in Mumbai. Some of them explained the cause, noting that it is because of the wind velocity and direction of it. 

“Wind direction is the cause, people burn parali in Haryana and Punjab, and effect is seen in Delhi, same wind caused havoc by supporting its spread and also protected air quality!” explained one user. “While Delhi aqi is truly awful, I don’t think the comparison with a coastal city with heavy winds is very accurate,” commented another. 

The Air Quality Index, often referred to as AQI, is a federal measure of the amount of air pollution. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good,’ 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory,’ 101 and 200 ‘moderate,’ 201 and 300 ‘poor,’ 301 and 400 ‘very poor,’ and 401 and 500 ‘severe’. 

Also Read | Pics: Losses From Deadly Wildfires Across Los Angeles Likely To Hit $60 Billion

Meanwhile, five fires are still burning in LA. A Los Angeles County fire official said an untold number of significant injuries were linked to two of the fires, and a city official in Los Angeles described Tuesday night as “one of the most devastating and terrifying” that she had seen in her corner of the city.

Nearly 180,000 people are under evacuation orders due to the wildfires. Another 200,000 residents are under evacuation warnings. 

Thousands of structures, which include homes, commercial buildings and vehicles, have been damaged or destroyed. The insured losses from this week’s fires may exceed $20 billion, and total economic losses could reach $50 billion, according to estimates published by JPMorgan on Thursday.

Los Angeles:

Rampaging wildfires around Los Angeles have killed at least two people and caused a “significant number” of serious injuries, officials tackling the terrifying blazes said Wednesday.

More than 1,000 buildings have burned in multiple wildfires that have erupted around America’s second biggest city, forcing tens of thousands of people from their homes.

Hurricane-force winds have whipped up fireballs that have leapt from home to home in the upmarket Pacific Palisades area, torching a swathe of California’s most desirable real estate.

“We have well over 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares) that have burned, and the fire is growing,” Los Angeles Fire Chief Anthony Marrone told reporters.

“We have no percentage of containment. We have an estimated 1,000 structures destroyed… and a high number of significant injuries to residents who did not evacuate.”

A second major fire was burning around Altadena, north of the city, where footage showed flames consuming whole streets.

“We have over 2,000 acres burning at this time, and the fire continues to grow with zero percent containment,” Marrone said.

“We have over 500 personnel assigned, and unfortunately, we have two reported fatalities to civilians, unknown cause at this time. And we do have a number of significant injuries. We have over 100 structures destroyed.”

Two other blazes in the area were also stretching resources.

Vicious gusts were pushing the flames, whipping red-hot embers hundreds of meters (yards), sparking new spot fires faster than firefighters could quell them.

As dawn broke, a vast pall of smoke was visible over Los Angeles, with the acrid tang of burning in the air.

City mayor Karen Bass warned that the “windstorm is expected to worsen through the morning” in a post on X early Wednesday.

Some firefighters were facing water shortages at hydrants in the Palisades, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Emmy-award-winning actor James Woods posted a video showing flames engulfing trees and bushes near his home as he evacuated, adding all the fire alarms were going off.

“I couldn’t believe our lovely little home in the hills held on this long. It feels like losing a loved one,” Woods said.

‘Ran to the car’

The first wildfire erupted on Tuesday morning and spread quickly, taking many residents by surprise.

Pacific Palisades resident Andrew Hires told AFP he got a text alerting him to the fire as his child was at the dentist about to have a tooth extracted.

“We pulled off the mask and ran to the car,” he said.

Trees and vegetation around the Getty Villa were burned, but the structure and collections were spared, the museum said.

The Getty, set up by US oil billionaire and collector J. Paul Getty and one of the world’s richest art museums, houses Greek and Roman antiquities in a replica Roman country home.

The fire came as the area was being hit by seasonal Santa Ana winds that forecasters said could develop into the worst windstorm in a decade, with gusts of up to 100 miles (160 kilometers) an hour.

“This looks pretty concerning,” said meteorologist Daniel Swain.

Wildfires are part of life in the US West and play a vital role in nature.

But scientists say human-caused climate change is altering weather patterns.

Southern California had two decades of drought that were followed by two exceptionally wet years, which sparked furious vegetative growth — leaving the region packed with fuel and primed to burn.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)