Several wildfires this year will lead to record emissions in the Northern Hemisphere environment

Canada’s wildfires will account for more than a quarter of total global carbon emissions from wildfires in 2023. Fires are still burning in some areas of the North American country, meaning emissions may continue to rise. Forest fires also broke out in northeastern Greece between July and August. Emissions at that time of year were the third highest on record, after 2007 and 2021, according to the European Observatory, and Hawaii, Portugal, Spain and Russia were also hit by severe wildfires this season.

Copernicus estimates the total carbon emissions resulting from all these fires this year at about 410 megatons. The previous record from 2014 was 138 megatonnes of carbon. “In northern regions, forest fires break out every summer with varying intensity and duration, depending on hydrological, meteorological and climatic conditions,” says Copernicus scientist Mark Barrington. “As temperatures continue to rise and drought lengthens, the risk of devastating wildfires like those in Canada increases.”

The forest fire season usually extends from May to October in the Northern Hemisphere. Hence annual emissions could continue to increase, even though the rate of increase appears to be plateauing. The European Observatory monitors fire emissions and smoke transport data to assess recent forest fires.