Forest fires ravaging the Arctic Circle – EU monitor

Forest fires are once again devastating the Arctic Circle, reports the EU’s climate change monitor – Copernicus.

It is the third time in the last five years that high-intensity fires have hit the region.

In a statement released Thursday, Copernicus reported higher air temperatures and drier conditions in Sakha, Russia, are creating ideal conditions for wildfires as soon as there is a spark.

Scientists fear smoke from the flames will harm the ability of Arctic ice to reflect solar radiation – which would mean both land and sea absorb more heat.

The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), which has been tracking emissions from wildfires in the Arctic Circle, found that during the month of June most wildfires occurred in Russia’s Sakha region.

According to estimates from Copernicus findings, carbon emissions from forest fires throughout June were the third highest in the last two decades, at 6.8 mega tons of carbon – behind only the fires of 2020 and 2019.

Carbon emissions in these years were 16.3 and 13.8 mega tons, respectively.

In 2021, forest fires also swept through Sakha, but were less intense than the 2020 and 2019 fires.

Mark Parrington, senior scientist at CAMS, said the conditions that led to the latest outbreak of fires are similar to the widespread wildfires of 2019 and 2020.

While Professor Gail Whiteman from the University of Exeter said the Arctic is “ground zero for climate change and the growing wildfires in Siberia are a clear warning sign that this essential system is approaching dangerous tipping points climate”.

“What happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay there,” added Professor Whiteman, saying these fires are “a wake-up call for urgent action.”

As climate change raises Arctic temperatures, wildfires are moving north, where they burn boreal forest and tundra, releasing large amounts of greenhouse gases from carbon-rich organic soils.

Carbon emissions in the region are the third highest in June in two decades, scientists suggest.

Located in the far north of Russia, the region suffered extensive forest fires in 2021, destroying almost 19 million hectares.

Quoted by Russian state news agency Tass, the region’s deputy minister of Ecology, Management and Forestry said more than 160 forest fires had affected nearly 460,000 hectares of land as of June 24.

Separately, Arctic sea ice has been declining rapidly since the 1980s.