A new attribution report published Thursday shows that global warming made the extreme hot and dry conditions preceding this summer’s wildfires in Portugal and Spain 40 times more likely and 30 percent more intense than in pre-industrial climate conditions.

The fires have killed at least eight people, and tens of thousands were evacuated as health-damaging smoke spread over France and as far as the United Kingdom and Scandinavia.

Science indicates that the challenges will intensify in the coming decades with further warming, and researchers are clear that the highest priority is reducing planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

The researchers who studied the Iberian fires are “very confident” that climate change is the most significant factor driving the extreme fire weather, compared

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