An unprecedented number wildfires in Siberia and Alaska in recent weeks have been pouring carbon dioxide into the sky. It means the blazes have not only been partly caused by global warming but are also likely a contributing factor to it.
ADVERTISEMENTAn unprecedented number wildfires in Siberia and Alaska in recent weeks have been pouring carbon dioxide into the sky.
It means the blazes in the Arctic region have not only been partly caused by global warming but are a contributing factor to it too.
The animation in the video player above, shared with Euronews by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF), shows CO2 concentrations from July 10-25.
We can see strong concentrations in northern Siberia and Alaska, where the forest fires have been reported.
But the CO2 does not just come from wildfires.
It is also caused by vehicle and industry emissions and this is likely to explain the high concentrations further south in China.
A scientist from ECMWF estimates the fires in the Arctic in July emitted as much CO2 as Sweden did in the whole of 2017.