Smoke from wildfires that burned frosty, northern forests of North America and Eurasia in 2021 contributed the most to global fire carbon emissions since 2000, according to a new study. An abnormally dry and warm year led to widespread fire and smoke in boreal forests, which made up 23% of the global emissions from fire. Normally they make up only 10% of fire emissions, researchers said. With climate change, they said boreal forests will see conditions like those in summer of 2021 more frequently, leading to more intense fire seasons that could create more carbon emissions and reduce the amount of trees available for storing carbon.
