Canada’s 2023 wildfire season shattered records and produced nearly as much carbon dioxide (CO2) as a decade of typical wildfires, according to the recently published State of Wildfires report. The data revealed that last year’s fires released about 2 billion tonnes of CO2, roughly a quarter of the total global emissions from wildfires. This staggering amount highlights the growing threat wildfires pose to the environment, exacerbated by the climate crisis.
The fires were unprecedented in their intensity and scale, a situation made at least three times more likely by climate change. The 2023 wildfire season was Canada’s “wildest season ever,” with devastating consequences not just for the environment, but also for human health and wildlife. The effects of these fires will be felt for decades, as the carbon released into the atmosphere continues to drive global warming.
Globally, carbon dioxide from wildfires is becoming an increasingly significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, reaching approximately 8.6 billion tonnes last year. This figure surpasses the 4.8 billion tonnes of annual emissions from the United States across all sources. However, the overall impact of these emissions could be somewhat mitigated by the regrowth of vegetation, which can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This process, known as a “delayed carbon sink,” occurs as forests recover over time, but with the frequency and intensity of wildfires on the rise, this natural recovery is being severely disrupted.
Matthew Jones, a research fellow at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia and lead author of the report, warned that the damage from intensifying wildfires would only worsen unless global greenhouse gas emissions are significantly reduced. “These fires are something we should all be concerned about,” Jones stated. “The full effects of last year’s fires will not be seen for a long time.”
One of the most alarming trends highlighted in the report is the increasing frequency of fires in areas that were previously considered low risk, such as wetlands and moist rainforests. Brazil’s Pantanal region, for instance, was devastated in June by record-breaking fires, which destroyed crucial wildlife habitats.
Jones emphasized that the shift in fire regimes—towards more frequent and severe burning—is creating a dangerous imbalance. “Immediate emissions from forest fires this decade are increasingly outweighing the delayed sinks from fires in previous decades,” he said, underscoring the urgent need for global action.
The State of Wildfires report was published in the journal Earth System Science Data and was led by the University of East Anglia, the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, and the Met Office, with contributions from a global network of researchers. The findings were based on satellite observations, computer models, and regional expert analysis, offering a comprehensive view of the growing wildfire crisis.