- hot-spots
- climate
- Russian Federation
- Siberian wildfires
Problems
Over the past years, mainly because of Climate Change, Siberia has looked more and more like a Song of Ice and Fire. This situation brings a vicious circle: Peat fires unleash huge quantities of carbon into the atmosphere contributing significantly to climate change, in turn, contributing to creating favorable conditions for wildfires.
Climate change
Wildfire seasons in Siberia were mainly due to very high temperatures. Temperatures have a direct link with the number and intensity of wildfires because the longer a heat wave lasts, the drier the vegetation becomes, which is very favorable to the ignition and the spreading of fires. It is well known that we can expect a rise in the temperature in the near future due to Climate Change. But the effect of this rise in wildfire activity has already been noticeable in the last few years. This effect is particularly striking for peatland-stored carbon situated North of the Arctic Circle. With temperatures rising, historically frozen soils are expected to thaw as the planet warms, making them even more vulnerable to wildfires.
Human activities
Human activities, such as logging, mining, and farming, can disturb the natural ecosystem and create conditions that make it more susceptible to wildfires. For example, logging can leave behind debris that is highly flammable and can act as fuel for fires. Additionally, agricultural practices, such as slash-and-burn techniques, can result in accidental fires that can quickly spread.
Lightning strikes
It’s mainly due to the composition of Siberia’s soil which is made of peat layers. Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed organic matter and therefore can burn under low moisture conditions. That’s why after its extinction on the surface, the fire can continue underground for months and re-ignite at the surface the following year a few kilometers away. Most of the 2020 wildfires were likely ignited by peat fires “which have been smoldering underground during the winter months.
Carbon emissions
Peatlands are the most carbon-dense ecosystem, and this carbon is released into the atmosphere when it burns. In addition peat, unlike trees, cannot regrow and therefore won’t be able to capture part of the emitted carbon. Carbon emissions are the most favorite ingredients to build a positive feedback loop for wildfires. Carbon emissions lead to warming that favors wildfires which can restart over and over again emitting more CO2. That’s why the situation in Siberia should be carefully monitored.
Solutions
Collaborating to protect the Arctic
Author: Russia
More research is needed to predict and understand wildfires in the Arctic - and pan-Arctic collaboration and cooperation is vital to address the threat to human lives, ecosystems and climate change, say climate scientists. “To prepare for these 21st century changes to the Arctic fire regime, evidence-based fire monitoring and management - including prevention strategies - must incorporate Indigenous and local knowledge in the Arctic,” write scientists in the journal Biogeosciences. Collaboration is happening. Russia took over chairmanship of the Arctic Council this year, a position it will hold until 2023, with the priority of achieving ‘responsible governance for a sustainable Arctic’. Climate change issues were high on the agenda when the Council met for its biennial meeting in Iceland in May, with delegates from Indigenous communities, as well as Russia, the US, Canada and Scandinavian nations. The Circumpolar Wildland Fire Project was set up by the Council’s Emergency Preparedness, Prevention and Response working group last year to coordinate training and the response to fires in the Arctic region, and promote international cooperation and contracting of resources across State boundaries. And Russia is launching a permafrost monitoring system that will give early-warnings of degradation and potential consequences.
Source: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/07/wildfires-climate-change-threat-arctic-russia/
Gallery
7
Timelines
2025
May
Siberia is experiencing a severe wildfire crisis, particularly in the Russian Far East regions such as Zabaykalsky Krai and the Republic of Buryatia. The fires have scorched over 629,000 hectares of land, leading to the deaths of three firefighters and prompting emergency declarations in affected areas. The region faced an unusually dry winter with low snow accumulation, followed by an early spring. These conditions resulted in extended dry periods, making the environment highly susceptible to wildfires. In Buryatia, approximately 90% of the 174 recorded forest fires were ignited due to human negligence, particularly the practice of burning dry grass. Research indicates that Arctic warming is contributing to increased drought and decreased rainfall in Siberia. This not only dries out soils but also creates a feedback loop where wildfires further suppress precipitation, exacerbating the situation.
2024
June 04
Since June 3, a federal emergency regime has been in effect in the region, as well as in neighboring Buryatia. In Transbaikalia, where a federal emergency regime has been introduced, the area of forest fires has increased In the Trans-Baikal Territory, according to the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Avialesookhrana, as of today, June 4, there are 31 forest fires on an area of 70.4 thousand hectares. The agency clarifies that this is half the area of all forest fires currently active in Russia. A day earlier, according to the regional government, there were 28 forest fires in Transbaikalia covering an area of 54 thousand hectares. “Over the past 24 hours, two fires were extinguished on an area of 352 hectares and five fires were localized on an area of 13 thousand hectares. In total, since the beginning of the fire season, 475 fires have been registered in the forest fund of the Trans-Baikal Territory over an area of more than 226 thousand hectares,” the press service of the regional government reports.
May
Authorities in the Irkutsk Oblast (administrative division) of Siberia in Russia declared a state of emergency on May 6, 2024, after a huge forest fire spread through the Bratsk district, a report in the Russian daily Moscow Times, said. The governor of Irkutsk, declared a state of emergency across the Bratsk district, even as a woman was reported critically injured due to the fires, according to the Moscow Times. Residents have been evacuated to the municipal center of Vikhorevka. On May 6, Irkutsk was among the nine regions where wildfires had been raging over the past 24 hours, according to a statement by the Russian Federal Forest Agency. On May 7, fires were raging in 6 regions of the country, as per the Agency: Jewish Autonomous Region/Oblast Khabarovsk Territory/Krai Amur Region/Oblast Irkutsk Region/Krai Republic of Buryatia/Ulas Trans-Baikal Territory/Krai There is a state of emergency across the Jewish Autonomous Region and Khabarovsk Territory, the statement added.
March 14
On the territory of the Trans-Baikal Territory, 25 landscape fires occurred (21 were eliminated) on a total area of more than 250 hectares. The most difficult situation developed in the urban district “City of Chita” and the Chita region. The largest dry grass fire occurred during the day near Lesnaya station. The rapid spread of the fire was facilitated by strong winds - a storm warning was announced in Transbaikalia the day before. It was possible to extinguish the fire in an area of 80 hectares. Also, not far from the Lesnaya station, in the Signal dacha cooperative, a fire occurred in the dry grass in the dacha plots. As a result, 12 country houses on 35 plots were destroyed by fire.
2022
May
The 2022 Siberian wildfires are a series of ongoing wildfires in Siberia, Russia that began in Siberia in early May 2022. Fires are concentrated in the Krasnoyarsk, Altai, Irkutsk, Kemerovo, Omsk, Kurgan regions, Khakassia, and Sakha republics. The total area of fires, as of May, is about 20 thousand hectares, and since the beginning of 2022 – more than 100 thousand hectares.
2021
June
From June 2021, the taiga forests in Siberia and the Far East region of Russia were hit by unprecedented wildfires, following record-breaking heat and drought. For the first time in recorded history, wildfire smoke reached the North Pole.
2020
April
On April 2020, strong winds helped to push fires set by locals to dry grass out of control. The regions of Kemerovo and Novosibirsk among others have been the hardest hit to date. Nine Siberian regions have been affected by these wildfires. Clouds of smoke have swept across the Siberian landscape. Since the start of 2020, it’s estimated that fires have burnt through 20 million hectares (49 million acres) of the Russian landscape, which is an area bigger than Greece, and about 10.9 million hectares (27 million acres) of the forest, according to Greenpeace International.
2019
July
The 2019 Siberian wildfires began in July 2019 in poorly accessible areas of northern Krasnoyarsk Krai, Sakha Republic, and Zabaykalsky Krai, all in Siberia, Russia. By the end of the month, the size of the fires reached 2,600,000 hectares (6,400,000 acres). As of July, there had been no reported deaths or injuries due to the fires. The 2019 Siberia wildfires generated significant publicity, especially among social media users. As a result, a process of reviewing legal regulations regarding forest protection and forest fire extinguishing activities were started at the state level.
2018
July
In mid-July 2018, smoke from the fires could be seen by satellites reaching North America. The Siberian Times reported 321,255 hectares (793,840 acres) were burning. The U.S. National Weather Service said smoke had crossed the Canada-U.S. border and reached Bellingham, Washington. Siberian fires were partly blamed by Environment Canada which issued an air quality statement in July for Prince George, BC. The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency stated the Puget Sound region would experience "moderate air quality at times with some upper-level smoke making for pretty sunsets. This smoke comes from distant fires, mostly originating from Siberia.
2017
July
Wildfires spread across southern Siberia in late June 2017. According to Russian state media, at least 27,000 hectares (100 square miles) were burning in the Irkutsk Oblast region. Another 27,000 hectares were burned in neighboring states and regions. More than 200 firefighters were sent to control the blazes. According to the science team of NASA’s Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (an instrument on the Suomi NPP satellite), the aerosol index reached 19 over the Lake Baikal/Irkutsk region, indicating very dense smoke at high altitudes. Researchers are investigating at least three possible pyrocumulus cloud formations in the area; such fire clouds can loft ash and particles high into the atmosphere.