The huge wildfires in Chile are the worst ever, says the United Nations disaster agency. Firefighters are working hard to control over 160 fires that have been burning for days.
The fires in Chile have killed at least 123 people, and many more are missing, say Chilean officials. They’ve identified 33 bodies and performed 79 autopsies, but there are still hundreds of people unaccounted for. The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction thinks more people might have died.
The wildfires have destroyed large areas of central and northern Chile, wiping out thousands of homes and buildings.
President Gabriel Boric called the fires the worst tragedy since the deadly 2010 earthquake, which killed hundreds.
“People in Viña del Mar, Quilpué, and Villa Alemana are facing an incredibly catastrophic and painful situation,” he said on Tuesday.
President Boric declared a state of emergency on Sunday when cities like Viña del Mar and Valparaiso filled with smoke as the fires spread from forests to urban areas. Aerial images of Viña del Mar show streets covered in ash and many homes destroyed.
Boric also declared Monday and Tuesday as days of mourning for the fire victims.
The wildfires in Chile have been made worse by the effects of El Niño, a natural climate pattern that causes global warming, leading to more severe droughts and heatwaves.
Chile has been suffering from a mega-drought for the past decade, the worst in at least 1,000 years. This has dried up water sources and made the land more prone to fires.
The country has experienced extremely high temperatures lately. On January 31, Santiago reached 37.3 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit), the third-highest temperature ever recorded in Chile in over a century.
In recent years, Chile has seen a significant increase in wildfires due to the combination of high temperatures, droughts, and strong winds, creating ideal conditions for large and destructive fires.