Global warming has given rise to bigger fires in Siberia, following which the release of huge amounts of carbon trapped in Siberian soil appears imminent, a report published in the journal Science said Thursday. The recent fires have released some 150 million tonnes of carbon, in what the researchers depicted as a ‘feedback loop’ of nature in response to global warming.&nbsp;

Researchers expressed fear that a threshold might soon be crossed, beyond which an even smaller rise in temperature may give rise to an exponential increase in the area burned in the Arctic circle

In 2019 and 2020, fires in Siberia destroyed a surface area equivalent to nearly half of that which burned in the previous 40 years, the study said.&nbsp;

“The area above the Arctic circle heats up four times faster than the rest of the planet and it is this climate amplification which causes abnormal fire activity,” David Gaveau, one of the authors of the study, was quoted as saying by AFP.&nbsp;

WATCH |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/wion-climate-tracker-climate-change-worsens-wildfires-global-warming-may-be-drying-the-planet-498265">WION Climate Tracker| Climate change worsens wildfires: Global warming may be drying the planet</a>

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In 2020, fire charred more than 2.5 million hectares (6.2 million acres) of land and released, in CO2 equivalent, as much as that emitted by Spain in one year, the scientists concluded.

In 2020, summer in Siberia was reported to be three times hotter than it was in 1980. The Russian city of Verkhoyansk hit 38 degrees Celsius in summer, a record for the Arctic.

The average air temperature in summer, from June to August, surpassed 10 degrees Celsius only four times in the period under study: in 2001, 2018, 2019 and 2020. These turned out to be the years with the most fires too.

2020-like forest fire events to be more frequent: Study

Looking ahead to the future, the study has predicted two possible scenarios.

In the first one, if nothing is done to fight climate change, fires of the same gravity as in 2020 may occur every year.

In the second scenario, if concentrations of greenhouse gases stabilise and temperatures level out by the second half of this century, severe fires like those of 2020 would break out on average every 10 years, said Adria Descals Ferrando, the main author of the study.

Either way "summers with fires like those of 2020 are going to be more and more frequent starting in 2050 and beyond," said Gaveau.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Global warming has given rise to bigger fires in Siberia, following which the release of huge amounts of carbon trapped in Siberian soil appears imminent, a report published in the journal Science said Thursday.

Global warming has given rise to bigger fires in Siberia, following which the release of huge amounts of carbon trapped in Siberian soil appears imminent, a report published in the journal Science said Thursday. The recent fires have released some 150 million tonnes of carbon, in what the researchers depicted as a ‘feedback loop’ of nature in response to global warming. Researchers expressed fear that a threshold might soon be crossed, beyond which an even smaller rise in temperature may give rise to an exponential increase in the area burned in the Arctic circle In 2019 and 2020, fires in Siberia destroyed a surface area equivalent to nearly half of that which burned in the previous 40 years, the study said. “The area above the Arctic circle heats up four times faster than the rest of the planet and it is this climate amplification which causes abnormal fire activity,” David Gaveau, one of the authors of the study, was quoted as saying by AFP. WATCH | WION Climate Tracker| Climate change worsens wildfires: Global warming may be drying the planet × In 2020, fire charred more than 2.5 million hectares (6.2 million acres) of land and released, in CO2 equivalent, as much as that emitted by Spain in one year, the scientists concluded. In 2020, summer in Siberia was reported to be three times hotter than it was in 1980. The Russian city of Verkhoyansk hit 38 degrees Celsius in summer, a record for the Arctic. The average air temperature in summer, from June to August, surpassed 10 degrees Celsius only four times in the period under study: in 2001, 2018, 2019 and 2020. These turned out to be the years with the most fires too. 2020-like forest fire events to be more frequent: Study Looking ahead to the future, the study has predicted two possible scenarios. In the first one, if nothing is done to fight climate change, fires of the same gravity as in 2020 may occur every year. In the second scenario, if concentrations of greenhouse gases stabilise and temperatures level out by the second half of this century, severe fires like those of 2020 would break out on average every 10 years, said Adria Descals Ferrando, the main author of the study. Either way "summers with fires like those of 2020 are going to be more and more frequent starting in 2050 and beyond," said Gaveau. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Summer wildfires in the Arctic may become more frequent than ever: Study

Following the Siberia wild fires and several other natural disasters around Russia, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has raised an alert on the "unprecedented"&nbsp;incidents.

As Siberia fights forest fires, Putin said the amount and scale of natural disasters that have hit Russia this year has been "absolutely unprecedented". He urged everyone to work together claiming it is "important" to work on climate change "systematically".

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/several-areas-in-japan-issue-evacuation-alert-after-floods-and-landslides-405378" hreflang="en">Several areas in Japan issue evacuation alert after floods and landslides</a>

"In the south (of Russia), the monthly norm of rainfall now falls in a few hours and in the Far East on the contrary, forest fires in drought conditions are spreading rapidly," Putin said.

In the video conference, he urged the concerned authorities to quickly ready their plans for the evacuation of locals living in the fire-affected areas. He has also suggested economic assistance, including the rebuilding of houses, for everyone who has suffered a loss in these forest fires.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/climate-change-is-a-hammer-hitting-us-on-the-head-developing-nations-say-405011" hreflang="en">Climate change is a ‘hammer hitting us on the head,’ developing nations say</a>

While Siberia and southern Russia suffers from natural disasters every year, the intensity has been getting worse with every year. Russian scientists have said climate change is the main reason behind these forest fires and floods that are affecting thousands of people in Russia and Siberia every year.

Meanwhile, Russia has initiated a national response centre and has deployed more firefighters to help Siberia put out the forest fires, which has already burned more than 9.4 million hectares&nbsp;in the country.

Following the Siberia wild fires and several other natural disasters around Russia, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has raised an alert on the "unprecedented" incidents.

Following the Siberia wild fires and several other natural disasters around Russia, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has raised an alert on the "unprecedented" incidents. As Siberia fights forest fires, Putin said the amount and scale of natural disasters that have hit Russia this year has been "absolutely unprecedented". He urged everyone to work together claiming it is "important" to work on climate change "systematically". Also read | Several areas in Japan issue evacuation alert after floods and landslides "In the south (of Russia), the monthly norm of rainfall now falls in a few hours and in the Far East on the contrary, forest fires in drought conditions are spreading rapidly," Putin said. In the video conference, he urged the concerned authorities to quickly ready their plans for the evacuation of locals living in the fire-affected areas. He has also suggested economic assistance, including the rebuilding of houses, for everyone who has suffered a loss in these forest fires. Also read | Climate change is a ‘hammer hitting us on the head,’ developing nations say While Siberia and southern Russia suffers from natural disasters every year, the intensity has been getting worse with every year. Russian scientists have said climate change is the main reason behind these forest fires and floods that are affecting thousands of people in Russia and Siberia every year. Meanwhile, Russia has initiated a national response centre and has deployed more firefighters to help Siberia put out the forest fires, which has already burned more than 9.4 million hectares in the country.

Putin says natural disasters in Russia are "unprecedented"

The smoke from devastating wildfires burning across the Siberian region of Russia has reached the North Pole, as per data published on the official site of NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS).

The smoke from devastating wildfires burning across the Siberian region of Russia has reached the North Pole, as per data published on the official site of NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The wildfire smoke has "travelled more than 3,000 km from Yakutia" to reach the North Pole, which "appears to be a first in recorded history", it said. "This week, wildfire smoke has travelled more than 3,000 km from Yakutia to reach the North Pole, a feat that appears to be a first in recorded history," NASA said. "The smoke, which was so thick that most of the land below was obscured from view, stretches about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) from east to west and 2,500 miles (4,000 km) from south to north—but it captures only a small part of the smoke from the Russian fires," it added. Yakutia, which is one of Russia's coldest regions that sits atop permafrost, has seen record-high temperatures and drought this year. The situation might worsen as the country's weather monitoring institute Rosgidromet said on Monday that the situation in the region — also known as Sakha — "continues to deteriorate". ALSO READ | Hundreds evacuated as wildfire reaches Turkey's thermal power plant The satellite imagery shows the extent of the damage after MODIS onboard NASA's Aqua satellite acquired the natural-colour image of large clouds of smoke spreading over Sakha on August 8, 2021. A few days before the image was captured, at least 178 active wildfires in Sakha were reported by Russia's aerial fire protection service. (This NASA Earth Observatory image released on August 7, 2021 shows smoke emitted from hundreds of forest fires covering most of Russia on August 6, 2021.Credit: AFP) Smoke from intense Siberian wildfires reaches North Polehttps://t.co/nJZiYMYgba NASA satellite image looking down at the North Pole on Aug. 2, showing wildfires burning across Siberia (orange dots) and a plume of dark, dense smoke snaking its way toward the North Pole pic.twitter.com/mS1HLPgV5o — Svein T veitdal (@tveitdal) August 3, 2021 × While the forest fires continue to rage, it is still difficult to ascertain the exact amount of forests burnt so far this year across Russia. However, according to Rosgidromet, close to 3.4 million hectares (8.4 million acres) are currently burning in the region, including areas that are "difficult to access and remote" The European Union's Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service said that the emissions since June total "more than 505 megatons of carbon dioxide equivalent". UN climate experts Monday published a report that shows unequivocally that global warming is unfolding more quickly than feared and that humanity is almost entirely to blame. (with inputs from agencies)

Russian wildfire smoke 'reaches North Pole', shows satellite imagery

The Arctic has transformed into an oven, the heatwaves have sparked hundreds of wildfires in Siberia. Watch this video to know more.

Siberia: Forest fire spreads in Arctic region due to heatwave