NASA study estimates carbon emissions from Canada’s wildfires

NASA has revealed in a recent study that the extreme wildfires that hit Canada in 2023 released approximately 640 million metric tons of carbon, an amount comparable to the annual emissions of a large industrialized nation. This figure highlights the magnitude of the crisis, especially in the context of the warmest and driest conditions the country has faced in decades.

Global impact of forest fires

Using advanced satellite observations, scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory were able to quantify the emissions from these fires, which devastated an area equivalent to the size of North Dakota between May and September 2023. This analysis, recently published in the journal Nature, highlights how the fires in Canada outweighed the carbon emissions emissions of countries such as Russia and Japan in all of 2022.

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Carbon monoxide (CO) column from forest fires in Canada. Source: NASA

The carbon dioxide released by these fires has an immediate impact on global warming. global warming. However, NASA experts point out that, unlike fossil fuel emissions, some of the carbon emitted could be reabsorbed as forests regenerate.

This study highlights the urgent need to monitor and mitigate the impact of such phenomena, especially in a context of increasingly pronounced climate change.

Sentinel 5P satellite alert

The TROPOMIinstrument, on board the Sentinel 5P satellite European Space Agency’s Sentinel 5P satellite, played a crucial role in measuring carbon monoxide concentrations in the atmosphere. carbon monoxide concentrations in the atmosphere during the fires. From this data, scientists were able to estimate total_CO2 emissions, revealing that extreme heat and drought conditions in Canada have been key factors in the severity of this year’s fires.

The results of this study underscore the need for immediate climate action. With temperatures projected to become the norm by 2050, the scientific community warns of a possible increase in fire activity, which could compromise the ability of Canadian forests to act as carbon sinks, further exacerbating global warming.

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Source and photo: NASA