SOURCE: Business Insider
DATE: July 24, 2019
SNIP: Vast areas of the Arctic have been engulfed in flames in wildfires that experts have called “unprecedented,” new satellite photos show.
Pierre Markuse, a satellite photography expert, posted images online showing wildfires in huge portions of the Arctic, including Russia, Alaska, and Greenland. Satellite imagery showed huge plumes of smoke visible from space.
The World Meteorological Organization warned in a recent report that conditions in the Arctic are “unprecedented.”
It said unusually hot and dry conditions in the northern hemisphere have created the ideal conditions for wildfires.
“Climate change, with rising temperatures and shifts in precipitation patterns, is amplifying the risk of wildfires and prolonging the season,” the organization wrote.
Since the beginning of June, the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) observed more than 100 intense and long-lasting fires in the Arctic Circle, the report said.
It said the total carbon dioxide sent into the atmosphere was more than the entire annual emissions of the nation of Sweden.