Hot, dry weather has created favourable conditions for the spread of wildfires in the Arctic.
"Intense forest fires this June have spread beyond the Arctic Circle, releasing megatonnes of carbon into the atmosphere," report European Union scientists.
Data obtained from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) show that the majority of the fires are raging in the Sakha Republic in northern Russia.
These seasonal fires are "migrating" northwards as temperatures in the Arctic rise because of climate change. The fires are spreading across tundra and boreal forests, releasing greenhouse gases from carbon-rich soils.
"The largest increase in the number of extreme wildfires over the past twenty years"
The Sakha Republic has seen much higher temperatures and drier conditions than are usual for this time of year, which has provided "ideal environmental conditions" for wildfires to take hold.
"Wildfire emissions in the Arctic have been at fairly typical levels over the past three summers, and we observed that the recent fires developed following warmer and drier conditions, similar to the widespread forest fires of 2019 and 2020," explains CAMS senior scientist Mark Parrington.
"This is the third time since 2019 that we have seen extensive forest fires in the Arctic. The north-eastern Arctic region has seen the largest increase in the number of extreme forest fires over the past twenty years."
"By 24 June, more than 160 forest fires had burned almost 460,000 hectares," the Russian state news agency TASS quotes Andrei Konoplev, the region's deputy minister for ecology, nature protection and forestry, as saying.
CAMS states that the estimated total monthly carbon emissions from these forest fires are the third highest of the past twenty years, at 6.8 megatonnes of carbon. This year's fires are surpassed only by those of 2020 and 2019, when 16.3 megatonnes and 13.8 megatonnes respectively were recorded.
Forest fires in the northern hemisphere usually peak in July and August.
The Arctic is "ground zero" for climate change
However, climate change in the Arctic affects not only the region itself, but the entire climate system of the Earth.
"The Arctic is ground zero for climate change, and the growing risk of Siberian fires is a clear warning signal that this vital system is approaching a dangerous climate tipping point," says Gail Whiteman (Gail Whiteman), professor at the University of Exeter and founder of the non-profit scientific organisation Arctic Basecamp.
"What happens in the Arctic does not stay there; changes in the Arctic amplify the risks for all of us. These fires are a warning signal that demands urgent action."