The wildfires that decimated Canada’s boreal forest in 2023 produced more greenhouse gas emissions than the fossil fuel use of almost every country in the world, a finding that could affect our predictions of global warming.
The wildfires that ravaged Canada in 2023 have risen to fourth place on the list of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases, according to a paper published Wednesday in the scientific journal NatureChina tops the list, followed by the United States and India.
The blazes released as much as 640 million metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere, more than Japan and Russia, the article said.
And the fires could challenge the boreal forest’s ability to absorb carbon emissions, which cause global warming.
“The boreal forest is a buffer for emissions from wildfires, but if it stops doing that, it’s going to be a problem,” said researcher Brendan Byrne, a carbon cycle specialist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory who co-authored the paper.
Historically, the boreal forest has absorbed nearly a quarter of global carbon emissions, the researcher says. “But if temperatures rise, there will be more fires, and when there are more fires, the forest’s ability to absorb carbon is reduced,” he adds.
Less carbon absorption
The 2023 fire season was the hottest and driest since at least 1980, with temperatures 2.6°C above average in northwestern Canada.
Due to these abnormal conditions, many fires have taken on gigantic proportions, burning nearly 18 million hectares. And this abnormal season is unlikely to be the last.
We know that fires are associated with dry and hot conditions. When we look at the predictions, we see that this will become common by 2050.
Brendan Byrne, a carbon cycle specialist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
The researcher and his team are now working to provide data illustrating the sources of carbon emissions caused by the fires, in order to help better anticipate the effects of climate change.
“Forests will play a significant role in how much of the emissions stay in the atmosphere, but we don’t know to what extent yet,” adds Brendan Byrne.