Record-high carbon dioxide emissions from boreal fires

There were record-high carbon dioxide emissions from boreal forest fires in Northern Canada and Siberia in 2021 continuing a trend that has been going on since at least 2000, according to new international research presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington DC. While boreal fires usually account for 10% of global fire carbon dioxide emissions, they contributed 23% in 2021, the study authors reported. Figures for 2022 and beyond are not yet available.

‘Boreal forests could be a time bomb of carbon, and the recent increases in wildfire emissions we see make me worry the clock is ticking,’ said study co-author Steven Davis, an earth science professor at University of California, Irvine.