The persistent, extreme heatwave in Siberia has not only likely led to a new heat record of 38 degrees Celsius within the Arctic Circle, but has also dried out soils and vegetation, thereby contributing to massive wildfires. We witnessed something similar just a few months ago with the large fires in Australia, which followed the warmest and driest year in Australian history. Or last year, when vast forested areas in Alaska, Canada and Siberia burned. Analysis of charcoal in sediment drill cores suggests that the increase in fires in the boreal forests has reached a level unprecedented in at least 10,000 years. One consequence of these wildfires is the release of carbon dioxide – the primary combustion product and cause of global warming. According to calculations by the Australian government, the bushfires in Australia last summer released 850 million tonnes of CO2 – more than Germany's entire annual CO2 output.

Read more at: spiegel.de