Wildfires in boreal forests release record levels of carbon, study shows

Over the past decade, wildfires in boreal regions have increased faster than in tropical forests, partly because average temperatures are rising more quickly in the north of the planet

Wildfires in the boreal forests that ring the globe’s far northern latitudes are emitting rapidly increasing amounts of carbon dioxide, according to an international study using new satellite technology.

Burning boreal forests across Eurasia and North America in 2021 released a record 1.76bn tonnes of CO₂ — representing 23 per cent of the world’s entire CO₂ emissions from fire. Global energy-related CO₂ emissions reached a record of almost 37bn tonnes in the same year.