Chinese scientists calculate 1 billion-tonne carbon dioxide emissions cost of Canadian wildfires

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) reported that the Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE) scientists involved in the research used remote sensing to assess rapid emissions based on emission intensity and the area burned.

Liu Zhihua, an expert in forest fires at the IAE and lead on the study, said emissions from these fires “have an undeniable impact on global climate warming”.

The scientists also estimated that the greenhouse effect of nitrous oxide and methane emitted from the fires is equivalent to 110 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. With the burning of permafrost, further stored methane could be released.

In 2022, the government agency Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) predicted that the area burned by the end of the century could double the amount of recent decades. The area burned this year already exceeds that prediction.

NRCan said the increase in wildfires – particularly in the northwestern boreal region – was attributed in part to climate change and consequently wildfires were expected to keep increasing.

The occurrence of wildfires “exceeded the scope of a natural change”, Liu told Chinese state-run media outlet CGTN.

The biodiversity loss and destruction of vegetation from rapidly burning fires and the exposure of soil after a blaze can lead to secondary issues such as erosion and landslides, according to the CAS.