Intense wildfires in the Arctic in June released more polluting gases into the Earth’s atmosphere than in any other month in 18 years of data collection, European scientists said in a report Tuesday. The Arctic is warming at least two and a half times faster than the global average rate. Wildfires are spreading across a large swath. In June, fires released 59 million metric tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide, greater than all the carbon emissions produced by Norway, an oil-producing country, in a year. The last time fires in the Arctic were this intense or released such a large volume of emissions was last year, which itself set a record.

Source: International New York Times July 07, 2020 17:36 UTC