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Rain eases the spread of Japan’s largest forest fire in over 50 years
In a report released Thursday, local authorities in Japan announced that rain had slowed the progress of the country’s largest forest fire in over five decades. The fire, which has been raging for a week, has devastated forests around Ofunato in Iwate Prefecture, located in the northeastern part of the Archipelago. The fire has claimed one life and forced over 4,500 people to evacuate.
A local fire official confirmed that aerial observations this morning showed that the fire’s perimeter had not expanded. Rain, which began falling Wednesday after a historic drought in the region, has significantly aided firefighting efforts, according to another official.
The blaze has scorched nearly 2,900 hectares, surpassing the 2,700 hectares burned in a 1975 fire on Hokkaido Island. Last year, Japan experienced the hottest summer on record, with global temperatures rising due to climate change.
In Ofunato, February saw only 2.5 millimeters of precipitation, far below the typical 41 millimeters and a sharp drop from the previous record of 4.4 millimeters in 1967.
In 2023, Japan faced approximately 1,300 forest fires, mostly occurring between February and April when air dries out and winds pick up.
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