Carbon emissions from historic forest fires in Canada have already surpassed the national annual record, the European observatory Copernicus announced on Tuesday, as more than 250 fires remain out of control, polluting the air and fueling global warming. .
Since early May, the country has been grappling with an unprecedented fire season “leading to a total of approximately 160 megatonnes of carbon emissions, which are now the highest estimated total annual emissions for Canada,” according to the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) database, dating back to 2003.
The previous record “was around 140 Mt in 2014”, Copernicus told AFP.
Wildfires in Canada in 2023 alone account for more than 10% of global wildfire-related carbon emissions in 2022 so far (totaling 1,455 megatonnes).
In terms of contribution to global warming, these 160 megatonnes of carbon represent the equivalent of approximately 590 million tonnes of CO2, or 88% of Canada’s annual greenhouse gas emissions in 2021 (or 670 Mt CO2eq).
And these emissions continue massively: across the country, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center (CIFFC) listed 494 active fires on Tuesday, including 259 out of control.
These fires, which have already destroyed 7.7 million hectares according to the CIFFC, are favored by hot and dry conditions which are expected to persist until the end of the summer, according to forecasts.
The smoke has led to a sharp deterioration in air quality in North America. The plume reached Europe on Monday, but the pollutants are circulating several kilometers above sea level and are “unlikely” to have an impact on air quality [en Europe] “, Copernicus told AFP on Monday.
The Canadian situation illustrates the fears of climatologists of an increase in fires with rising temperatures. The multiplication of fires transforms these natural carbon sinks, which capture and store carbon dioxide, into sources of greenhouse gases, fueling a vicious circle.
Fires now destroy twice as much forest cover in the world as at the beginning of the century and 70% of the areas devoured by flames in 20 years concern the boreal forests, which cover a large part of Russia, Canada and Europe. ‘Alaska.
These boreal zones, which are among the largest carbon sinks on the planet, are warming up two to three times faster than the planet as a whole.