Wildfires around the world have released 343 megatonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere
Environment — di Andrea Indiano
From North America to Europe, wildfires are devastating territories and causing record carbon dioxide emissions.
Wildfires around the world have released 343 megatonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere
From North America to Europe, wildfires are devastating territories and causing record carbon dioxide emissions.
Not only the drama of the flames and the damage that wildfires cause wherever they spread, but an additional environmental problem concerning CO2 emissions. With extreme heat and prolonged drought as contributing factors, the recent wildfires burning in various parts of the world have released 343 megatonnes of carbon into the atmosphere. In particular, the fires in Siberia and North America have contributed to the largest carbon dioxide emissions from wildfires since July 2003. This is a form of contamination affecting the entire world that experts analysing the collateral damage caused by the increase in wildfires say is set to grow.
The damage caused by wildfires in Siberia
Summer wildfires have already produced a record amount of carbon dioxide emissions in the Siberian region of Yakutia, in Russia, with several weeks still to go before the end of the fire season. As reported by the news agency Reuters, environmentalists fear that the heat-driven fires could thaw the Siberian permafrost and peatlands, releasing even more carbon that has long been stored in the frozen tundra.
Forest fires are part of the natural cycle for Russia's northern forests, but scientists have been astonished by the scale and intensity of the flames this season. Even in the glacial Arctic zone, average temperatures are rising three times faster than in the rest of the world. The CO2 emissions produced by burnt land are set to increase and, as a consequence, to worsen global warming on a worldwide scale.
We are fighting some of the worst #wildfires we’ve seen in decades.
But this summer’s floods, heatwaves and forest fires can become our new normality.
We must ask ourselves: is this the world we want to live in?
We need immediate actions #ForNature before it’s too late.
But this summer’s floods, heatwaves and forest fires can become our new normality.
We must ask ourselves: is this the world we want to live in?
We need immediate actions #ForNature before it’s too late.
Too many fires in the Mediterranean
It has been estimated that wildfires emit between 5 and 30 tonnes of carbon emissions per hectare depending on the intensity and type of material burned. In California, which is the most affected area of the United States, there are 16 active fires that have yet to be contained, according to data from American firefighters. In the eastern and central Mediterranean, many nations including Italy are facing an unusually fierce start to the fire season. Last week, the intensity of the fires in Turkey was four times higher than the previous national record. Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes and holiday destinations in Albania, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, North Macedonia, Spain, Turkey and on the islands of Rhodes, Sardinia and Sicily due to the approaching flames and smoke damage.
Carbon dioxide emissions are another complication arising from the spread of fires across the world. Virginijus Sinkevicius, the European Union's environment commissioner, has stated that extreme weather conditions show how necessary it is to tackle the problem of climate change; on Thursday the politician sent an explicit message on his Twitter channel: "We are fighting some of the worst fires we have seen in recent decades. But the floods, heatwaves and wildfires of this summer could become our new normal. We need to ask ourselves: is this the world we want to live in? We need immediate action for nature before it is too late."