Arctic wildfires ravaging Russia’s Far North are releasing megatons of carbon

This article was originally published in English

Intense wildfires above the Arctic Circle released megatons of carbon into the atmosphere in June, according to European Union scientists.

Data from the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS) shows that the majority of fires are burning in the Sakha Republic in Russia’s Far North.

These seasonal fires are moving north as climate change causes temperatures to rise in the Arctic. They ravage the tundra and boreal forests, releasing greenhouse gases from the carbon-rich soil.

Largest increase in extreme fires in past two decades

The Sakha Republic experienced much higher temperatures and drier conditions than usual for this time of year. This situation created the ideal environmental conditions for the outbreak of forest fires.

“Arctic fire emissions have been at fairly typical levels over the past three summers, but we observed that the recent fires developed in response to warmer and drier conditions, similar to the widespread wildfires in 2019 and 2020.”explains Mark Parrington, a senior scientist at CAMS.

“This is the third time since 2019 that we have seen significant wildfires in the Arctic and it showed that this region of the northeast Arctic has seen the largest increase in extreme wildfires over the past few years. last two decades.”

More than 160 forest fires had burned nearly 460,000 hectares of land as of June 24, Andrey Konoplevhe, the region’s deputy minister of ecology, nature management and forestry, was quoted as saying by Russian state news agency TASS.

According to CAMS, the total monthly carbon emissions (link in English) due to these fires are the third largest in the last two decades, with 6.8 megatons of carbon. This year’s fires fall just behind those of 2020 and 2019, which recorded 16.3 megatons and 13.8 megatons, respectively.

In the northern hemisphere, wildfires typically peak in July and August.

The Arctic is “ground zero” for climate change

THE climate change in the Arctic do not only affect the local region. They are of major importance on a global scale because they impact the entire climate system of the Earth.

“The Arctic is ground zero for climate change and the growing risk of wildfires in Siberia is a clear sign that this essential system is approaching dangerous climate tipping points”says Gail Whiteman, a professor at the University of Exeter and founder of the nonprofit science organization Arctic Basecamp.

“What happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay there – changes in the Arctic are amplifying global risks for all of us. These fires are a wake-up call for urgent action.”