Arctic wildfires emitted as much CO2 in June as Sweden does in a year

(The Guardian, 12 Jul 2019) Wildfires this year have been at an unusual intensity despite being common in the northern hemisphere between May and October.

Arctic wildfires, some the size of 100,000 football pitches, emitted as much carbon dioxide (CO2) last month as the country of Sweden does in a whole year, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Friday.

“Since the start of June we’ve seen unprecedented wildfires in the Arctic region,” a WMO spokeswoman, Clare Nullis, told a regular UN briefing in Geneva.

“In June alone these wildfires emitted 50 megatonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere, this is the equivalent of Sweden’s annual total CO2 emissions. This is more than was released by Arctic fires in the same month between 2010 and 2018 combined.”

Wildfires are common in the northern hemisphere between May and October, but this year the fires have been at an unusual latitude and intensity, she said.

Most have been in the US state of Alaska and the Russian region of Siberia, but one fire in Alberta was estimated to be bigger than 300,000 football pitches, or about the size of Luxembourg.

Alaska had experienced more than 400 wildfires so far this year, with new ones igniting every day.

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The Guardian, 12 Jul 2019: Arctic wildfires emitted as much CO2 in June as Sweden does in a year