Human-caused climate change doubled the likelihood of the weather conditions that fueled Canada's extensive summer wildfires, according to a study released Thursday by World Weather Attribution. The group of international scientists examines extreme weather events for climate change influences.

This finding emerged as former President Donald Trump had attributed the fires to Canada's forest management practices, warning of consequences.

According to the study, the fire weather conditions observed in the Northwest Territories and northwestern Ontario were made twice as probable by global warming. Researchers focused on heat, lack of rain, humidity, and wind – key indicators for wildfire risk. The study compared current conditions to a climate without the 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit (1.4 degrees Celsius) of warming that has occurred since the industrial age. The weather patterns that led to the Ontario fires, which are now occurring approximately every six years, would have been far less likely in a pre-industrial climate, potentially occurring only once in a lifetime, the study noted.

While the study has not yet undergone peer review, outside climate and fire scientists indicated that its conclusions align with a world where hotter and drier conditions contribute to more frequent and intense wildfires. Mike Flannigan, a fire scientist at Thompson Rivers University, described the situation as "Mother Nature's been burning. Now she's on amphetamines and she burns more and more."

Lightning sparked the fires in the remote Northwest Territories, where over 5,000 square miles burned. However, climate conditions were the primary factor in the fires' intensity and rapid spread, according to study co-author Jonathan Boucher, a fire scientist at Canada's Forest Service, and lead author Theodore Keeping, a climate scientist at Imperial College in London.

While humans initiate about half of Canada's wildfires, lightning is responsible for over 90% of the land area burned. Boucher stated, "What we're facing here is more of a climate related problem than a forest management problem."

Former President Trump, however, expressed a different view on July 21, stating, "They’re not managing their forests properly." He also indicated he had decided on a course of action regarding punishing Canada for the fires, which sent hazardous smoke across the United States.

Canadian climate and fire scientists have countered that Trump's perspective overlooks the broader causes. University of Victoria climate scientist Andrew Weaver commented, "President Trump is pointing at the smoke while ignoring America's fingerprints on the climate conditions behind it." Study co-author Friederike Otto of Imperial College London emphasized the immediate need to cease burning fossil fuels due to the current and significant impacts of climate change.

Canada has experienced warming 65% faster than the United States in recent decades. Over the past 30 years, the annual land burned by Canadian wildfires has increased by about 50%, while the amount in the United States has more than doubled.

Scientists also noted that much of Canada's forest land is remote, northerly, and contains fast-burning species like spruce and pine. These factors make controlling fires difficult, especially given the limited window for initial suppression efforts in remote areas. Flannigan explained that if fires are not contained within approximately 30 minutes, they become much harder to manage. Many fires start in remote areas that are more than 30 minutes from an airport, meaning suppression efforts may arrive too late.