As of Tuesday morning, wildfire engulfs around 2,600 hectares over seven times area of NY Central Park
\n TOKYO
\nFirefighters were on Tuesday battling Japan\u2019s worst wildfire in half a century, which has left one dead and forced the evacuation of nearly 4,000 local residents.
\nWhite smoke billowed from a forested area around the northern city of Ofunato, aerial TV footage showed, five days after the blaze began after record low rainfall.
\nThe fire also follows Japan\u2019s hottest summer on record last year, as climate change pushes up temperatures worldwide.
\nAs of Tuesday morning, the wildfire had engulfed around 2,600 hectares (6,400 acres), the fire and disaster management agency said \u2014 over seven times the area of New York\u2019s Central Park.
\nThat makes it Japan\u2019s largest wildfire since 1975 when 2,700 hectares burnt in Kushiro on northern Hokkaido island.
\nIt is estimated to have damaged at least 80 buildings by Sunday, although details were still being assessed, the agency said.
\nMilitary and fire department helicopters are trying to douse the Ofunato fire, a city official told reporters.
\n\u201cAt the moment, there is no indication that the fire is under control,\u201d the official said.
\nSnow is expected overnight, changing to rain, but the official said he could not say whether it would help extinguish the blaze.
\n\u201cThe poor weather may prevent helicopters from dropping water,\u201d he warned.
\nAround 2,000 firefighters \u2014 most deployed from other parts of the country, including Tokyo \u2014 are working from the air and ground in the area in Iwate region, which was hard-hit by a deadly tsunami in 2011.
\nAn evacuation advisory has been issued to around 4,600 people, of whom 3,939 have left their homes to seek shelter, according to the municipality.
\nThe number of wildfires in Japan has declined since its 1970s peak, but the country saw about 1,300 in 2023, concentrated in February to April when the air dries and winds pick up.
\n\u2018No rain\u2019
\nOfunato had just 2.5 millimetres (0.1 inches) of rainfall in February \u2014 breaking the previous record low for the month of 4.4 millimetres in 1967 and below the usual average of 41 millimetres.
\nSince Friday, \u201cthere has been no rain \u2014 or very little, if any\u201d in Ofunato, a local weather agency official told AFP.
\nSome types of extreme weather have a well established link with climate change, such as heatwaves or heavy rainfall.
\nOther phenomena like droughts, snowstorms, tropical storms and forest fires can result from a combination of complex factors.
\nSome companies have been affected by the wildfire, such as Taiheiyo Cement, which told AFP its Ofunato plant has suspended operations for several days because part of its premises is in the evacuation advisory zone.
\nOfunato-based confectionery company Saitoseika warned that \u201cif our headquarters or plants become a no-go zone, we may need to halt production\u201d, describing the situation as \u201ctense\u201d.
\nJapanese baseball prodigy Roki Sasaki \u2014 who recently joined the Los Angeles Dodgers \u2014 has offered a 10 million yen ($67,000) donation and 500 sets of bedding, Ofunato city\u2019s official account posted on X.
\nSasaki was a high school student there, after losing his father and grandparents in the huge 2011 tsunami.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As of Tuesday morning, wildfire engulfs around 2,600 hectares over seven times area of NY Central Park TOKYO Firefighters were on Tuesday battling Japan\u2019s worst wildfire in half a century, which has left one dead and forced the evacuation of nearly 4,000 local residents. White smoke billowed from a forested area around the northern city […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":465238,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-465197","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n