climate
Copernicus: Record-breaking forest fires in the northern hemisphere
A firefighter fights against a sea of flames in the Greek village of Hasia near Athens. photo
© Marios Lolos/XinHua/dpa
From Canada to Greece, people are battling devastating forest fires. The fires release many megatons of carbon – and according to the EU atmospheric service CAMS, that is probably just the beginning.
In the northern hemisphere it has this year Forest fires of record-breaking proportions. This emerges from a preliminary assessment by the EU atmosphere service CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), which was published today. Accordingly, the so-called boreal forest fire season 2023, which lasts from May to October, has already caused record-breaking emissions.
The fires in Canada, which began as early as May, were particularly severe. According to Copernicus, they have so far caused almost 410 megatons of carbon emissions – by far the highest value ever measured for Canada.
Some of the smoke plumes reached as far as Europe. They have been responsible for a good quarter (27 percent) of global carbon emissions so far this year. Active forest fires in the country mean that emissions are likely to continue to rise.
The likelihood of devastating fires increases
Although forest fires occur regularly, climate change is having an impact here, it is said. “As temperatures continue to rise and drought continues for longer, the likelihood of devastating forest fires like those in Canada increases,” said CAMS lead researcher Mark Parrington.
There were also fires in Russia, on the Iberian Peninsula, on the island of Maui, which belongs to the US state of Hawaii, and in Greece, which recorded the third highest emissions after 2007 and 2021.
The Atmospheric Monitoring Service is one of several components of the European Union’s Copernicus program. It provides, among other things, data obtained from satellite images on the areas of the atmosphere, oceans, land, climate change, security and energy.