siberia burning

What to know

• Over 332 active fires are burning over 1.6 million hectares of land in Siberia
• Parts of the Arctic Circle have been burning since July 2019
• These wildfires originated from a combination of natural causes including temperatures reaching 30 ℃, wind, and dry thunderstorms
• The cost-benefit ratio of saving these ecosystems indicates that Siberia should let the wildfires burn until rain comes because most of them are not directly endangering civilization
• These fires are so humongous their smoke blew across the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea to reach Oregon, Alaska, and Canada

Key Takeaway

• Wildfires are destroying valuable ecosystems in the Arctic Circle
• High temperatures melted the permafrost early, releasing the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases trapped underneath and contributing to climate change
• Temperatures in the Arctic Circle reached record highs within the past six months, only exacerbating the fires
• Human-caused climate change intensified these fires in a variety of ways
• We must act on climate change before other extreme weather events begin to seriously affect a greater number of humans

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