Wildfires intensify in Colombia amid El Nino conditions

Bogota: Colombia’s National Unit for Disaster Risk Management has said that 12 wildfires remain active in three departments amid El Nino conditions.

The agency on Monday (local time) said that 84 fires had been extinguished over the past seven days. The active fires are concentrated in the departments of Tolima, which has 10, and Caldas and Huila, with one each.

Santiago Herrera, mayor of Coello, one of the hardest-hit municipalities in Tolima, called for immediate support from the national government to help fight the fires from the air.

Herrera told Noticias Caracol that the municipality is in a critical situation, noting that high temperatures, strong winds and the number of active fires had made it difficult to bring the blazes fully under control, reports Xinhua news agency.

He said three rural areas in Coello currently had six active fire spots, while local fire units were insufficient and facing logistical strain as they tried to cover all affected points.

Herrera said about 100 people specialising in rescue and wildfire response were working alongside local residents, but helicopter support was urgently needed.

Only aerial support, he said, could help lower temperatures and allow ground crews to reach the fire spots more effectively.

In Coello alone, more than 2,000 hectares have been affected, along with about 7,000 people, especially in the rural area of Chaguala.

Wildfires in Colombia began in early August and are mainly linked to El Nino conditions, which authorities say could last in the country until March 2027.

El Nino is a natural climate pattern characterised by the warming of ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.

The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said Monday the daily global average sea surface temperature (SST) reached 21.1 degrees Celsius on August 22, surpassing the previous record of 21.09 degrees Celsius set in March 2024

IANS