Peat, the world's largest terrestrial carbon store, ignites into 'unprecedented' Arctic firestorms

Intense conditions fanned Siberian flames, many burning through frozen or soggy peatland. Thomas Smith, London School of Economics fire expert: there are signs peat ablaze dried out due to the heat, worrisome since peat is rich in carbon; fires release it as carbon dioxide. Peat fires burn underground into the winter and reignite in spring. Northern fires released as much CO2 in June as Sweden does in a year; wildfire activity is “unprecedented” in the hottest June ever recorded for the planet with the Arctic sweltering. All that CO2 released by fires represents one feedback loop of climate change as hot weather in the northern hemisphere ensures more fires, which releases CO2 and makes climate change worse. The boreal forest that rings the northern portion of the world is witnessing a period of wildfire activity unseen in at least 10,000 years.