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The European Union’s Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service said Tuesday that wildfires burning across large swathes of eastern and western Canada have released 160 million tons of carbon.
these years Forest fires The season is the worst on record in Canada, burning about 76,000 square kilometers (29,000 sq mi) across eastern and western Canada. That’s more than the area burned combined in 2016, 2019, 2022 and 2022, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center.
As of June 26, annual emissions from the fires are now the largest for Canada since satellite monitoring began in 2003, surpassing 2014’s 140 million tons.
“The difference is that the fires in eastern Canada are driving this growth in emissions more than just western Canada,” said Mark Barrington, chief scientist at Copernicus. He said emissions from just Alberta and British Columbia are far from setting any records.
Scientists are particularly concerned about what Canada’s fires are putting into the atmosphere — and the air we breathe.
The carbon they released is roughly equivalent to Indonesia’s annual carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels.
Forests act as a critical sink for global warming carbon. It is estimated that the forests of northern Canada store more than 200 billion tons of carbon – the equivalent of several decades of global carbon emissions. But when forests burn, they release some of that carbon into the atmosphere. This accelerates global warming and creates a dangerous feedback loop by creating conditions under which forests are more likely to burn.
Smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed several major urban centers in June, including New York City and Toronto, staining the skies an eerily orange.
Public health authorities have issued air quality alerts, urging residents to stay indoors. Wildfire smoke is linked to higher rates of heart attacks and strokes and more visits to emergency rooms for respiratory illnesses.
Now, the plume has crossed the North Atlantic. Worsening fires in Quebec and Ontario will likely result in hazy skies and deep orange sunsets in Europe this week, Barrington said. However, since smoke is expected to remain higher in the atmosphere, surface air quality is not likely to be affected.
As conditions continue to be unusually warm and dry across most of Canada, “there is no end in sight yet,” Barrington said.
Canada’s wildfire season typically peaks in late July or August, with emissions continuing to be high throughout the summer.
these years Forest fires The season is the worst on record in Canada, burning about 76,000 square kilometers (29,000 sq mi) across eastern and western Canada. That’s more than the area burned combined in 2016, 2019, 2022 and 2022, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center.
As of June 26, annual emissions from the fires are now the largest for Canada since satellite monitoring began in 2003, surpassing 2014’s 140 million tons.
“The difference is that the fires in eastern Canada are driving this growth in emissions more than just western Canada,” said Mark Barrington, chief scientist at Copernicus. He said emissions from just Alberta and British Columbia are far from setting any records.
Scientists are particularly concerned about what Canada’s fires are putting into the atmosphere — and the air we breathe.
The carbon they released is roughly equivalent to Indonesia’s annual carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels.
Forests act as a critical sink for global warming carbon. It is estimated that the forests of northern Canada store more than 200 billion tons of carbon – the equivalent of several decades of global carbon emissions. But when forests burn, they release some of that carbon into the atmosphere. This accelerates global warming and creates a dangerous feedback loop by creating conditions under which forests are more likely to burn.
Smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed several major urban centers in June, including New York City and Toronto, staining the skies an eerily orange.
Public health authorities have issued air quality alerts, urging residents to stay indoors. Wildfire smoke is linked to higher rates of heart attacks and strokes and more visits to emergency rooms for respiratory illnesses.
Now, the plume has crossed the North Atlantic. Worsening fires in Quebec and Ontario will likely result in hazy skies and deep orange sunsets in Europe this week, Barrington said. However, since smoke is expected to remain higher in the atmosphere, surface air quality is not likely to be affected.
As conditions continue to be unusually warm and dry across most of Canada, “there is no end in sight yet,” Barrington said.
Canada’s wildfire season typically peaks in late July or August, with emissions continuing to be high throughout the summer.
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