Summer 2020 Arctic wildfires break carbon emissions records
The EU’s monitoring service revealed that carbon emissions from the Arctic Circle fires so far this year are already up one-third compared to the whole of 2019, writes Louise Boyle
The summer of wildfires in the Arctic Circle has broken last year’s carbon emissions record, according to the European Union’s earth observation programme, as the region continues to deteriorate at a faster pace than the rest of the world.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Arctic Circle fires were up by more than a third in 2020 compared to last year, according to new data published Thursday by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) at the EU’s medium-range weather forecasting centre (ECMWF).
Scientists have estimated that between 1 January-31 August this year, CO2 emissions for the region were 244 megatonnes (Mt) – compared to 181Mt for the whole of 2019.
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