Japan is facing a rare and devastating wildfire that has taken the country by surprise, with the blaze continuing to ravage the north-eastern coastal city of Ofunato.
As record-breaking snowfall has been recorded in Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido, the country is fighting its worst wildfire since the late 1980s with more than 2,000 self-defence force troops and firefighters deployed.
"Although it is inevitable that the fire will spread to some extent, we will take all possible measures to ensure there will be no impact on people's homes," Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said in parliament.
The fire has forced more than 1,200 residents to flee their homes.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said at least 84 homes had been damaged.
Yusuke Yokoyama, a professor at the University of Tokyo's Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, said the scale of the wildfire had shocked locals.
"People are not expecting such large bushfires as they think Japan is such a humid country," he told the ABC.
"This is the biggest fires we've seen in Japan in decades and particularly after the LA fires, where you saw how quickly they spread, this has really alarmed people in Japan," he added.
Why are the fires so intense?
The wildfire has been fuelled by a combination of rare weather patterns and geographical factors.
Japan's north-eastern regions, including Iwate prefecture, have experienced their driest winter since record-keeping began in 1946, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
This had been compounded by cold, dry air clashing with moist air from the sea, creating a volatile mix, said Professor Yokoyama.
"Right now you are seeing very heavy snow on one side of Japan — with lots of Australians skiing — but then on the other side of the archipelago we don't have moisture but very dry conditions where you are seeing the bushfires," he said.
The blaze has burned about 2,100 hectares of forest since it started a week ago, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Rare fires to become more common
Professor Yokoyama said the unique topography of the steep mountains had contributed to the severity of the fires.
He said they moved more quickly on hills, as flames could easily reach unburnt fuel in front of the fire.
Kaitlyn Trudeau, a senior research associate in Climate Science in California, said the combination of challenging terrain and extreme weather had made the fires difficult to contain.
"The mountains create a rain shadow, which means the region doesn't get much precipitation, adding to the dry conditions," she said.
Ms Trudeau said the fires were possibly a sign of a more volatile climate in Japan's future.
"These large fires are rare, but they could become more common as climate change continues to alter weather patterns," Ms Trudeau told the ABC.
Wake-up call for climate preparedness
Ms Trudeau said it was clear the warming planet was making extreme conditions more frequent and severe.
"Climate change doesn't directly start fires, but what it is doing is making the conditions which allow fires to burn larger, faster, and become harder to fight more frequent and severe," she said.
Scientists with NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said 2024 was hotter than any year since at least 1880.
Professor Yokoyama stressed that Japan was becoming increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather events.
"The fires are not directly related to climate change but we can say global warming could modify the trajectory of what different regions experience and how severely affected they are," he said.
"We could see more extreme weather events like floods last summer lasting longer for six months or heavier dumps of snow or more hazard events," Mr Yokoyama added.
As the world faces more frequent natural disasters, experts like Martin Okata, senior climate and disaster risk specialist at the Asian Development Bank, argue that governments must take proactive measures.
"We need early warning systems, public awareness campaigns, and climate adaptation strategies to reduce disaster risks," he told the ABC.
Sustainable land management and fire prevention policies will be essential for tackling the challenges posed by shifting weather patterns, he said.
For Professor Yokoyama, preparing Japan's communities for such events is crucial.
He pointed out that Japan's aging population, especially in rural areas, posed a unique challenge when it comes to swift evacuations.
"People live by catching fish and are far from the forests, so bushfires have never been a major concern," he said.
"But we need to change that mindset moving forward, and I'm working with my students to communicate the science of these events to better prepare for the future."
ABC/wires
