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To date, 3,063 fires have burned burned approximately 20 million acres this season.
The 10-year average for Canadian wildfire seasons around this time is 2,452 fires burning 1.3 million acres. Seasons typically begin around May, ramp up over the summer months and diminish around fall, with July usually being the most active month.
As of Friday, more than 490 wildfires were active. Fires were burning in almost all of of Canada's ten provinces and three territories. There were 106 active fires in Quebec, 103 in Alberta, 96 in British Columbia, and 64 in Ontario.
Because of their size, locations and behavior, many of the fires are not expected to be extinguished anytime soon — whether by firefighters or a major shift in weather conditions — until after summer ends.
Many of the fires are burning in the boreal forests ringing the Arctic, and in peatlands, which function as natural sinks for carbon dioxide (CO2).
As those environments burn, CO2 locked in soil and plants is released into the atmosphere along with other greenhouse gases that contribute to elevated temperatures.
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Under normal conditions, these vital forests capture and store enormous amounts of carbon, especially within soils, peatlands, and permafrost. Canada’s Boreal Forest alone holds about 12% of the world’s land-based carbon reserves.
But now they're on fire.
FULL STORY -- https://www.axios.com/2023/06/30/canada-wildfire-crisis-active-acres-record
ALSO SEE -- https://climatejustice.social/@breadandcircuses/110502756740758426
#Canada #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #Wildfires
