Forests burning in one of the coldest places on Earth - Siberia
- Nicole Wang
- Sep 6, 2020
- 4 min read
By Nicole Wang
The Siberian forests burning ---- Images by Greenpeace International
Yet again, our planet is on fire. By way of storms, floods, and raging fires, climate change - a human-driven catastrophe - has torn into some of the greatest natural habitats on Earth. Important CO2 absorbers such as the Amazon Rainforest have gone up in flames with incredible habitats and biodiversity along with it. Sadly, due to accelerating global warming, this type of extreme weather will continue at continuously destructive levels until 2050. In 2020, another prized ecosystem suffers damage from our mistakes. The Siberian Tundra is burning and it is due to climate change.
Typically, the Arctic vegetation is too cold, icy, and wet to burn, but climate researchers suggest the event is due to a rapidly changing landscape. While Siberians forests are no stranger to devastating flames, experts raise concerns at how intense and far north the fires are reaching. The cause is evident. Global warming, caused by climate change, has been steadily increasing Earth’s temperatures. Evidence suggests that areas with colder climates, such as in the Siberian Tundra, are rising at a faster pace than anywhere else - nearly 2 times as fast in some areas. For example, on June 17th, the Siberian town of Verkhoyansk reached record highest temperatures of 100.4O Fahrenheit (38o Celcius). Experts predicted this kind of climate to occur at least seven decades later. The high temperatures dried up the vegetation in the taiga, allowing fires ravage. Even the coldest areas of Siberia, like central Yakutia, have experienced the burning. Due to human irresponsibility, the geographical region is now a climate hotspot.
As of late July, 20 million hectares (49 million acres) of the Russian landscape burned down, an area larger than Greece. 10.9 million hectares of the made up of the Siberian forest obliterated as well. In comparison, last year’s global extent of tree loss was 11.9 million hectares. The fires continue into August; it is unclear when they will fully die out. Last month, 24.700 square kilometers burned off - an area 10x the size of Luxembourg.
What is the Significance:
Climatologists have expressed surprise and concern over how far up north and how long the fires seem to be burning. The ice that builds up the tundra takes part in regulating global temperatures. The fires could potentially accelerate the already rapid rate of climate change. Forests absorb approximately 30% of all annual CO2 emissions. Meanwhile, Russian forests contribute 19% of the world’s forests by surface area. The burning of the Siberian Taiga Forest means that the Earth is losing another major asset in slowing down global warming. This Arctic Region both cools and protects the planet from global warming.
Yet, that’s not the only alarming factor of the Siberian Forests burning. According to NASA, “Estimates show that around half of the fires in Arctic Russia this year are burning through areas with peat soil—decomposed organic matter that is a large natural carbon source.” Burning peat soil is alarming for multiple reasons. Burning the outermost layer of peat could unlock the stores underneath that have been accumulating for 15,000 years. As they burn and permafrost continues to melt, methane - a greenhouse gas more dangerous than carbon dioxide - is released. Not to mention, oil from melted permafrost leaks into local bodies of water, furthering the polluting important biodiversity. The New York Times reported the Artic fires released more pollution in June than in the past 18 years documented time. As they burn, the fires diminish Earth’s natural defense against global warming and release potent greenhouse gases that pollute the atmosphere even further.
These fires pose an even greater threat amidst the pandemic. There have been concerns that the poor air quality will cause respiratory problems, which might lead to more COVID-19 cases in affected regions. It may not be only Siberians who face these issues; haze from the fires has traveled into western Washington State as reported by the National Western Service of Seattle.
Russian authorities are only concerned about 5% of the burning area. The remainder 95% is composed of so-called “controlled zones” that are not allowed to be distinguished by law. The control zones take up 45% of the country’s forests, according to Mongobay News.
Last year, Russian authorities promised to establish better fire-management policies. Yet, local firefights still lack the resources to combat the burning. The forests belong to the Russian Federation; they fund their regions about 30 billion rubles ($420 million) but at least 90 billion rubles ($1.2 billion is needed). Siberian and Far East Regions get funded the least, receiving about one-tenth of the required earnings to extinguish the fires successfully.
Siberian Taiga fires are becoming a common occurrence with increased severity. Our planet is changing at a rate far faster than climatologists predicted. Yet, once again we observe government officials remain unconcerned about the future of the world. It is important that we, as a race, understand the impact of our actions and make efforts to change the climate narrative. The Siberian Taiga fires remind us that our world is changing and we must change with it.
References
KomoNews
National Geographic
Nasa Earth Observatory
Mongabay News
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