Texas Fires Have Emitted a Near-Record Amount of Carbon Dioxide

Texas fires released roughly 3.4 million metric ton of carbon dioxide in January and February, according to a new analysis.

In January, Texas fires pumped out 440,400 tons of CO2 emissions, according to Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service data shared with Bloomberg Green. February saw even more fire activity, including the Smokehouse Creek Fire, the state’s largest fire on record. It and other blazes across the state, emitted a staggering 2.9 million tons of CO2 emissions in February, or roughly 28% of US fire-driven carbon emissions.