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Wildfires Surge Worldwide, Driving Up Greenhouse Gas Emissions
16 Oct
Summary
- Carbon emissions from extreme wildfires increased by 9% in 2024
- Catastrophic fires devastated rainforests, dry forests, and wetlands in South America and Canada
- Wildfires are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change
According to a recent report, carbon emissions from extreme wildfires increased by 9% in 2024, reaching the sixth highest level on record. Intense, fast-spreading fires devastated huge swathes of South America's rainforests, dry forests, and wetlands, as well as Canada's northern forests, pushing up the levels of damaging greenhouse gases.
The report found that catastrophic wildfires in the Amazon in 2024 devastated 44.2 million acres, a 66% increase in land lost to fires compared to 2023. On the border of Bolivia and Brazil, the Pantanal wetlands and the dry forest of Chiquitano also suffered extreme fire events, causing soaring carbon emissions. Wildfires in Canada's northern forests also contributed significantly to the surge in emissions.
Experts warn that wildfires are becoming more frequent and more intense as a result of climate breakdown caused by human-induced global heating. The report states that the excess in carbon emissions caused by these wildfires is akin to the emissions of more than 200 countries. Unless world leaders take decisive action to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the frequency of such catastrophic events is set to rise in the future.
