Global Forest Fire Carbon Emissions Have Jumped 60% in 20 Years
A new study finds that emissions from burning woodlands in higher latitudes are growing at the fastest rate.
The boreal forest north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, on June 19, 2014.
Photographer: Ben Nelms/Bloomberg
Carbon dioxide emissions from forest fires have surged 60% globally since 2001, as more and bigger blazes tore through fast-warming regions outside the tropics, according to a new study.
The research, published Thursday in the journal Science, shows that wildfires are getting worse, particularly in one climate-sensitive area — the northern boreal forests, which span from Russia to North America. Fire emissions have almost tripled from those forests during the past 20 years, the authors of the report said.
Read More: Climate Change Is So Bad, Even the Arctic Is On Fire