Forests can easily pull carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in roots and leaves, keeping the planet cool and healthy for a long time. But these precious carbon sinks are on fire. Global emissions from forest fires have increased 60% since 2001.
The researchers say they had to check the calculations because the number is quite staggering. The study, published in Science, used machine learning to group Earth’s forest ecosystems into 12 categories. Each kind of forest reacted differently to the drivers of forest fires.
Burning boreal forests, largely in the colder climes of Siberia and Canada, have been the biggest contributors to carbon emissions to date. Researches found that one type of boreal forest almost tripled its annual carbon emissions in the period from 2001 to 2023.
Paris agreement target “hanging by a thread”
Climate change has turned into one of the biggest threats humans have ever faced. The brutal crisis has been elevating global temperatures to unprecedented levels, triggering natural disasters of much higher intensities, and making fire-favourable conditions more prevalent.
During less active fire years, less populated but highly forested countries such as Canada can conveniently act as carbon sinks for global emissions. But during a year full of frequent fires, these countries can turn into a source of carbon emissions.
The 2015 Paris agreement aims to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. But that target is currently “hanging by a thread”, according to UN Secretary General Guterres as the planet keeps getting hotter.
