News of wildfires

Scientists say climate change fuelled conditions for Chile, Argentina wildfires

11-02-2026 08:37 Scientific study finds human-driven climate change and La Niña combined to create unusually dry conditions.

INTERVIEW: ENVIRONMENT

‘A new normal’: Patagonia wildfires intensifying, expert warns

10-02-2026 12:02 CONICET researcher Thomas Kitzberger says Patagonia has entered a “new normal” of larger and more destructive fires driven by heatwaves and declining rainfall. He warns that wildfire risk could multiply several times over by the end of the century, permanently altering the landscape.

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE

Firefighters battle blazes in Patagonia, 60,000 hectares destroyed

03-02-2026 17:11 Hundreds of firefighters continue to battle wildfires that have already devastated more than 60,000 hectares in Patagonia.

ENVIRONMENT & WILDLIFE

Fires in Patagonia: Flames continue to spread, 50,000 hectares destroyed

02-02-2026 11:11 Active blazes in Chubut, Río Negro, Neuquén and Santa Cruz; More than 500 firefighters are battling fires exacerbated by strong winds and high temperatures.

ENVIRONMENT & WILDLIFE

Government declares emergency over Patagonia wildfires

30-01-2026 10:02 Milei administration declares fire emergency in Chubut, Río Negro, Neuquén and La Pampa via emergency decree; Affected areas declared a disaster zone by authorities.

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE

Rains ease fires in Patagonia, but risk of flare-ups remains

29-01-2026 15:21 Brief respite from light rainfall earlier this week has improved conditions; Experts say the risk of further flare-ups remain, with at least 45,000 hectares on land now burnt.

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE

Extreme weather hampers fight against wildfires in Patagonia

25-01-2026 01:54 Tens of thousands of hectares have burned in southern Argentina as firefighters struggle against heat, drought and strong winds, with Los Alerces National Park the hardest-hit area.

Wildfires in Latin America

Chile declares emergency after wildfires force 20,000 to evacuate

18-01-2026 10:00 Chile's government has not said whether the fires killed anyone or how many homes had been impacted.

ANTI-SEMITISM ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Fires in Patagonia revive old anti-Semitic narratives

15-01-2026 18:25 Viral messages on social media attributing raging forest fires in Patagonia to alleged Israeli plans to populate the region, reviving centuries-old conspiracy theories.

DISINFORMATION & SOCIAL MEDIA

Patagonia’s wildfires become weapons of disinformation

14-01-2026 16:05 From Mapuche scapegoating to an alleged Israeli plot – how conspiracy theories, false narratives, AI images and political agendas distorted the truth behind the devastating blazes in southern Argentina.

by Giselle Leclercq

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE

Firefighters battle blazes as Patagonia wildfires spread to 15,000 hectares

12-01-2026 10:02 More than 15,000 hectares of forest have been consumed by fire in Argentina's Patagonia, according to most recent update; Hundreds of firefighters and local volunteers struggled to contain flames out of control that have put small communities on edge.

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE

More than 3,000 tourists evacuated as Patagonia battles wildfires

07-01-2026 16:47 Some 3,000 tourists evacuated as fire rips through thousands of hectares of forests in Patagonia.

ENVIRONMENT

Argentina’s top environment official resigns post

14-02-2025 01:14 With forest fires raging in Argentina's north and south and President Milei analysing a withdrawal from the Paris climate accords, Environment Undersecretary Ana Lamas presents resignation due to “exhaustion” and “personal reasons.”

ENVIRONMENT

After Patagonia, fires rip through northeast Argentina

11-02-2025 22:26 Fires in the northeastern province of Corrientes have consumed up to 250,000 hectares of land in northeast Argentina since January.

ENVIRONMENT

Hundreds of homes evacuated as Patagonia fires spread

16-01-2025 14:49 Forest fires in Patagonia force evacuation of 200 families, destroying some 2,000 hectares of terrain in the town of Epuyén.

ENVIRONMENT

Brazilians choke as fire smoke blankets 80% of country

30-09-2024 16:44 Brazil is suffering the effects of a multiplication of fires from north to south in the midst of an extreme drought linked to climate change.

ENVIRONMENT & WILDLIFE

Wildfires continue to ravage Córdoba as Milei spreads fake news

26-09-2024 15:57 Firefighters are seeking to contain wildfires that have set ablaze at least 70,000 hectares. President Milei, fresh from his trip to New York, travels to the region to survey damage – and then spreads fake news about the event on social media.

ENVIRONMENT

Fires in Brazil engulf two-thirds of the country in smoke

19-09-2024 10:31 Brazil is experiencing record-breaking wildfires as persistent drought affects the Amazon rainforest. Two-thirds of the country is under smoke, and fires are reported to have been set by farmers, known as slash-and-burn agriculture.