Climate change feeds on itself: heat waves produce more firesand these in turn cause higher emissions to the atmosphere, which prefers higher temperatures. An endless spiral that reaches its climax this summer. Spain has been one of the biggest contributors to this disastrous statistic due to the great fires of these months.
looters Forest fires this summer in Europe caused the biggest emissions since 2007According to scientists from the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS). This service monitors the intensity and daily emissions of these fires as well as their impact on air quality along with other similar events in other parts of the world throughout the summer.
The Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS) said in a statement that forest fires across Europe have caused the largest emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere in the last 15 years. The combination of the August heatwave and prolonged dry conditions in Western Europe led to increased activity, intensity and persistence of wildfires.
Based on information from CAMS’ Global Fire Data Assimilation System (GFAS) data, which uses satellite observations of wildfire locations and fire radiation power (FRP), an intensity measure to estimate emissions of pollutants contained in smoke, it is estimated as follows: Total emissions from forest fires registered in the European Union and the United Kingdom between 31 August 2022 6.4 megatons of carbon is the highest level since summer 2007 for these months.
Emissions recorded in the summer of 2022 were largely due to devastating wildfires in southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula. France and Spain recorded the highest emissions from fires in the last 20 years.
Despite some devastating fires in other parts of the Northern Hemisphere that typically experience the highest wildfire activity during the summer months, overall estimated emissions were considerably lower than in recent years. The Sakha Republic and the Chukotka autonomous region in Russia’s far east have not suffered as many fires as in recent summers, as most of those recorded this summer were declared further south in Khabarovsk Krai.
More central and western regions of Russia, such as the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Region and the Ryazan Region, experienced more forest fires for several days, which caused heavy smoke and deterioration of air quality. Total estimated emissions from fires in Russia’s Central Federal District were the highest since the major peat fires that hit western Russia in 2010.
in North America, wildfires in alaska It continued into June and early July with massive fires in Canada’s Yukon and Northwest Territories in May. According to the GFAS, in the western United States, total log fire density and total seasonal releases for California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana were much lower and more typical compared to the summers of 2020 and 2021. Data from CAMS.
Amazon: Highest emissions in 20 years
Meanwhile, throughout August and so far in September, Fire season in the Amazon region. In the second half of August, higher-than-average daily emissions from fires in the Legal Amazon in Brazil resulted in one of the highest estimated total emissions levels for the period since 2010 (together with 2019-2021).
Compared to the Legal Amazon as a whole, it was the state of Amazonas that experienced well above average fire emissions, making the July and August totals the second highest in the past 20 years (only after 2021). In addition, in the first days of September there was a marked increase in fires across the Amazon region with daily values ​​well above average. Caused the smoke to cover a very large area of ​​South America. CAMS continues to closely monitor both fire emissions and smoke across the region.
Mark Parrington, Senior Scientist and Wildfire Specialist at ECMWF’s Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS), explains: the size and persistence of fires in southwestern Europe, Emissions, which caused the biggest emissions on the Old Continent in 15 years, were extremely worrying over the summer.
Most of the fires have occurred in places where climate change has increased the flammability of vegetation, such as southwestern Europe, as we have seen in other regions in other years. CAMS is currently closely monitoring fire emissions and smoke transport in the Amazon region and South America as the peak of the fire season will be reached in the coming weeks.”
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Environment department contact address:crisclimatica@prensaiberica.es
Source: Informacion
Anika Rood is an author at “Social Bites”. She is an automobile enthusiast who writes about the latest developments and news in the automobile industry. With a deep understanding of the latest technologies and a passion for writing, Anika provides insightful and engaging articles that keep her readers informed and up-to-date on the latest happenings in the world of automobiles.