Japan’s biggest wildfire in more than 30 years continues to rage with at least 2,100 hectares scorched and one fatality reported so far, as climate analysts have warned such occurrences may become more common in the country due to climate change.
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The blaze on the outskirts of Ofunato in Iwate prefecture – the fourth in northeast Japan since February 19 – has destroyed at least 84 buildings, causing the evacuation of nearly 4,600 people.
More than 1,700 personnel were deployed in the affected areas as of Sunday following an appeal by the local government to firefighting and emergency agencies. The disaster management agency later requested additional personnel to deal with the blaze.
Climate analysts have blamed the fires on an arid winter on the country’s east coast amid erratic weather patterns.
“There is no question that this winter’s weather has been unusual,” said Kevin Short, a naturalist and former professor of cultural anthropology at Tokyo University of Information Sciences.
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“There has been extremely heavy snow on the Sea of Japan side of the country but very dry conditions on the Pacific coast,” he told This Week in Asia. “There was virtually zero precipitation in the Kanto and Tohoku regions of eastern Japan throughout February, and that has left trees very dry and easy to burn.”
