Water-bombing helicopters in El Hoyo, Chubut Province, Argentina, January 9, 2026. MATIAS GARAY/REUTERS Once again, during the Southern Hemisphere summer, Argentina’s Patagonia has been ravaged by massive wildfires. Since the blazes broke out on January 5 near the tourist area of Puerto Patriada, approximately 1,700 kilometers south of Buenos Aires, nearly 15,000 hectares have burned, including 12,000 in Chubut Province. More than 3,000 tourists and 15 families living near the main fire were evacuated. As of noon on Monday, January 12, the fires, which are believed to have been deliberately set, were only partially under control. Every summer, wildfires devastate Patagonia, with increased intensity since 2020, according to Greenpeace Argentina. Between October 2024 and March 2025, more than 31,000 hectares were destroyed by fires, a fourfold increase compared to the same period the previous year. “The scale and intensity of these fires are worsened by climate change, with hotter summers, temperatures exceeding 30°C for several days and a lack of rainfall, especially during winter,” said Hernan Giardini, a forest project coordinator at Greenpeace Argentina. Another …