2020 Arctic Fires Already One-third Higher Than 2019 Record High

Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, September 3

Arctic fire emissions – those directly caused by humans, as well as those from natural phenomena such as lightning strikes – already are one-third higher than the 2019 total, which itself broke the previous record.  The CO2 released from these fires through the end of August totalled around 244 megatonnes, about as much as Malaysia emits in a year, or one-third the reported annual emissions of Canada.  Scientists from Copernicus, which conducted the monitoring speculate that some of this fire growth has arisen from so-called “zombie fires,” peatlands and former permafrost that continue to burn beneath the surface throughout the winter months; as well as warmer and drier conditions that allow human-set agricultural fires, and natural wildfires to spread.

Compiled by Amy Imdieke.