Forest fires recorded in Europe and the UK between June 1 and August 31 this year generated 6.4 megatons of carbon, the highest level for this period since summer 2007, with Spain and France the highest emitters, reports the European Copernicus System (CAMS) .

According to data from the Global Fire Data Assimilation System (GFAS) of the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service, the combination of heatwaves and prolonged dry conditions in Western Europe resulted in increased fire activity, intensity and fire persistence.

Emissions recorded this summer came “in large part” from devastating bushfires in the Iberian Peninsula and southwestern France, according to GFAS, and Spain and France were the regions with the highest emissions in the last 20 years from fires.

CAMS obtains data thanks to satellite observations of the location of forest fires, fire radiation power (FRP) -a measure of intensity for estimating the emission of pollutants present in smoke-, emissions and the resulting output. the air quality impact of this disaster in Europe and elsewhere on the planet.

In other regions of the Northern Hemisphere, where wildfire activity typically peaks during the summer, total emissions are expected to be much lower than in recent years, despite some devastating fires.

In North America, wildfires that broke out in Alaska in May continued through June and early July, with major fires raging in the Yukon and Northwest Territories of Canada.

In the western United States, daily fire intensity and total seasonal emissions are much lower for California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana compared to summers 2020 and 2021 and are more typical throughout the year, according to GFAS data.

In the Amazon, during the second half of August, daily emissions from fires were higher than average for parts of Brazil (nine states and one part), which resulted in one of the highest levels of total emissions estimated for the period. 2010 (together with 2019-2021).

It was the state of Amazonas that recorded above-average fire emissions, making the totals for July and August the second-highest (behind only for 2021) in the last 20 years.

In addition, according to the European system, in the first days of September there has been a marked increase in fires throughout the Amazon region, with daily values ​​much higher than the average in several Amazonian states, which has caused smoke to billow. covers a very large area in South America.

They note that CAMS continues to closely monitor fire and smoke emissions across the region.

In addition, the estimated total emissions from fires in Russia’s Central Federal District are the highest since the massive peat fires that swept through western Russia in 2010.

This situation is due to the fact that the Sakha Republic and the autonomous district of Chukotka, at Russia’s easternmost tip, are not experiencing as many fires as in recent summers, as most of those registered this summer were declared further south, in the Khabarovsk Krai.

Meanwhile, in the more central and western regions of Russia, such as the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District and the Ryazan District, there is an increase in the number of forest fires causing several days of thick smoke and decreasing air quality.

Emissions data from the fires is known the day before tomorrow’s Air Quality Day celebrations.

EFE