Siberian fires caused record CO2 emissions according to Copernicus

Firefighters tackle fires in Siberia, July 9, 2020. -

The fires which raged this summer in Siberia caused record emissions of CO2, greenhouse gas contributing to warming, indicates Thursday the European service Copernicus on climate change.

Based on satellite observations, scientists at Copernicus estimated emissions from fires inside the Arctic Circle at 244 megatons of CO2 between January 1 and August 31, compared to 181 megatons for the whole of 2019. Taking taking into account the Siberian areas outside the Arctic Circle, the fires also broke emission records, with 540 megatonnes of CO2 emissions from June to August.

Gigantic fires for the second year in a row

For the second year in a row, Siberia has been ravaged by gigantic fires, favored by record temperatures exceeding on average by more than 5 ° C the normal for the season.

Combined with less humid than normal soils, this heatwave created ideal conditions for the proliferation of fires that ravaged the immense forests of Siberia.

According to Copernicus, some fires could even have been started by "zombie" fires, which would have lingered below the surface since the unprecedented fires of 2019.

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