The Amazon wildfires are cause for global concern. Canada’s should be too. | The Narwhal
According to a 2018 study published in the journal Ecosphere, Canada is headed for a fivefold increase in the area burned by forest fires by the year 2100. Some regions will be hit harder than others, but none harder than Alberta.
As forest fires rage, experts worry about the future of the Amazon | CBC News
The
Amazon spans more than 5.5 million square kilometres, is home to
roughly 40,000 plant species, 1,300 bird species and 2.5 million species
of insects. And it is in crisis, experts say.
And
what’s making it worse, say some, are some of the economic and
environmental policies put in place by the Brazilian government under
the leadership of President Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right politician who
has questioned the existence of climate change.
The Arctic’s on fire and now it’s going to be hit by a heat wave
Unprecedented wildfires are currently raging across the Arctic Circle, with some the size of 100,000 football fields — so big they can be seen from space.
Arctic sea ice is moreover already running at a record low this year;
scientists worry a heat wave will only further exacerbate the area’s
problems.
Physical, Psychological Stress of Annual Wildfires Has Westerners Moving East – The Energy Mix
Case in point is 34-year-old Georgia Fisher, who just moved east with her partner and their infant daughter. Speaking from her new home in Peterborough, Ontario, Fisher said that having spent the past 15 years in Alberta, she “wouldn’t have begun to consider this move if it weren’t for last summer and all the smoke.”
That’s because, when it comes to western wildfires, there is simply “no end in sight,” Observer states.
‘Unprecedented’ Wildfires Burned Across the Arctic Circle In June
Across the Arctic, more than 100 wildfires are releasing clouds of carbon dioxide and other harmful emissions into the atmosphere.
The fires have been burning across the Arctic Circle in Siberia and Alaska for weeks. Though fire is a natural part of some Arctic ecosystems, scientists are calling the wildfires “unprecedented” for the month of June based on their size and carbon dioxide emissions.
“These are some of the biggest fires on the planet, with a few appearing to be larger than 100,000 hectares,” Thomas Smith, professor of geography at the London School of Economics, said in an email. “The amount of CO2 emitted from Arctic Circle fires in June 2019 is larger than all of the CO2 released from Arctic Circle fires in the same month from 2010 through to 2018 put together.”