A major new study reveals that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from forest fires have surged by 60% globally since 2001, and almost tripled in some of the most climate-sensitive northern boreal forests.
It is one of the first studies to look globally at the differences between forest and non-forest fires, and shows that in one of the largest pyromes, which spans boreal forests in Eurasia and North America, emissions from fires nearly tripled between 2001 and 2023.
The study reveals a worrying increase in not only the extent of forest wildfires over the last two decades, but also their severity. The carbon combustion rate, a measure of fire severity based on how much carbon is emitted per unit of area burned, increased by almost 50% across forests globally between 2001 and 2023.
The work involved an international team of scientists who warn that further expansion of forest fires can only be averted if the primary causes of climate change, such as fossil fuel emissions, are tackled.
Significantly, the increased emissions from forest fires contrasts with the reduced burning of the world’s tropical savannas during the same period. Previous studies have shown that, since 2001, the area burned by all fires (forest and non-forest) fell by a quarter globally, mainly due to this.