Forests burn in Argentina amid heatwave and drought

Fires in heatwave and drought-stricken Argentina have devoured some 6,000 hectares of forests in the northern Corrientes province in just days, officials reported.

Three fires continued on Tuesday to threaten while two others were burning but under control, according to the emergency command centre of Corrientes.

No injuries have been reported and the fires have not spread to populated areas, with rains expected Tuesday. 

Since the start of the year, with the South American country facing heatwave after heat wave, fires have destroyed more than 100,000 hectares in Corrientes, according to the INTA agricultural technology institute.

Last month, Argentina issued health warnings in several provinces under the worst heatwave in decades, with temperatures close to 40 Celsius.

The three months from November to the end of January were the warmest such period since 1961, according to the weather service.

Persistent heat waves

While occasional heatwaves are normal, the climate crisis has made them "more persistent and more intense," even in Argentina's mountainous Patagonia region, meteorologist Enzo Campetella told the AFP news agency last month.

In 2022, forest fires in Corrientes burnt more than a million hectares, according to official figures.

The La Nina cycle of the El Nino weather phenomenon brought historically high temperatures last year, leading to crop losses estimated in the billions of dollars.