This week, wildfires spread across southern California forcing almost 400,000 residents in LA county to evacuate their homes. The Palisades fires have burnt roughly 20,000 acres and destroyed 5,000 structures.

Scientists say that climate change has made the area more vulnerable to burning as the rapid swings between dry and wet conditions have created a massive amount of tinder-dry vegetation that is ready to ignite. Strong winds have also fanned flames across the area to at least four different locations to more than 25,000 acres. The strong winds have made it difficult to contain the fire, grounding helicopters that were dousing flames from the air.

California governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency, with President Joe Biden directing federal funds for temporary housing, home repairs and loans for uninsured property loss.

President-elect Donald Trump and his supporters have used the fires to attack the Democratic political ruling establishment in California. The Republicans have particularly taken aim at Newsom, for supposedly failing to ensure enough water was available to minimise the fires, with Trump calling on Newsom to resign as a result. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass also received criticism for being part of a delegation to Ghana when the fires broke out, given the National Weather Service of Los Angeles warning of the extreme conditions the week before. Critics said her absence slowed the response time.

The wildfires have further shaken a city that has been struggling with social and economic problems such as mass homelessness and lack of affordable housing. The county will face an expensive recovery effort, with an estimated financial loss reaching more than $150bn.

The wildfires continue to spread throughout L.A, moving inland towards Brentwood and other communities near Getty Center and UCLA.

In Irish news:

• The High Court ruled that An Bord Pleanála must prioritise climate law, following a judgement that a wind farm was wrongfully denied planning permission, a decision that will have far-reaching implications for all public bodies.
• An assessment conducted by the Department of Public Expenditure concluded that the Irish government will increase climate and environmental expenditure to €7 billion this year.
• As part of the Ireland-New Zealand Joint Research Initiative (JRI), €5.2 million in funding was granted to research projects to develop new technologies that reduce agricultural emissions.

In other world news:

• According to Oxfam, the richest 1% of the world’s population have already spent their share of carbon emissions for 2025.
• Ahead of Trump’s inauguration, US President Joe Biden will ban new offshore oil and gas development along most US coastlines, a decision that Trump may find difficult to reverse.
• According to a report published by Sighlight Climate, energy startups have overtaken the makers of electric cars and batteries for the first time since 2020, as demand grows for technologies that can power data centres with less emissions.