# Japan battles largest wildfire in decades

## More than a thousand people have been evacuated as Japan battles its largest wildfire in more than three decades.

The flames are estimated to have spread over about 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) in the forest of Ofunato in the northern region of Iwate since a fire broke out on Wednesday, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.







Firefighters work to extinguish the fire. Photograph: Fire and Disaster Management Agency/Reuters

Two other fires were also burning on Saturday, one in Yamanashi and another elsewhere in Iwate.

There were about 1,300 wildfires across Japan in 2023, concentrated in the February to April period when the air dries out and winds pick up. The number of wildfires has declined since the peak in the 1970s, according to government data.



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Ofunato has had only 2.5mm (0.1 inches) of rain in February – far below the previous record low for February of 4.4mm in 1967.

Last year was Japan’s hottest since records began, mirroring other countries as ever-rising greenhouse gas emissions fuel the climate crisis.

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