Journal
SCIENCE
Volume 379, Issue 6635, Pages 912-917Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/science.ade0805
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Extreme wildfires in boreal forests are increasing and impacting Earth's climate. These fires, which account for typically 10% of global fire carbon dioxide emissions, contributed 23% (0.48 billion metric tons of carbon) in 2021. The synchronized water deficit in North American and Eurasian boreal forests in 2021 led to the rapid expansion of wildfires, challenging climate mitigation efforts.
Extreme wildfires are becoming more common and increasingly affecting Earth's climate. Wildfires in boreal forests have attracted much less attention than those in tropical forests, although boreal forests are one of the most extensive biomes on Earth and are experiencing the fastest warming. We used a satellite-based atmospheric inversion system to monitor fire emissions in boreal forests. Wildfires are rapidly expanding into boreal forests with emerging warmer and drier fire seasons. Boreal fires, typically accounting for 10% of global fire carbon dioxide emissions, contributed 23% (0.48 billion metric tons of carbon) in 2021, by far the highest fraction since 2000. 2021 was an abnormal year because North American and Eurasian boreal forests synchronously experienced their greatest water deficit. Increasing numbers of extreme boreal fires and stronger climate-fire feedbacks challenge climate mitigation efforts.
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