The wildfire smoke from Siberia has reached the North Pole as NASA had revealed. The fire in the dense forest was caught by NASA’s satellites. This was the first time it had happened in human history.
Santiago Gasso had stated that wildfire smoke reaching the Pole should be considered at the continental scale. The satellite Copernicus was monitoring the wildfires and had seen such an image.
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The region of Sakha was burning and had emitted 505 megatons of CO2. The Yakutia region had experienced harsh cold temperatures but it was quite different this year as the mercury failed to drop. The temperatures were at a record high.
The Wildfire Smoke Causes Continental-Scale Alarm
The abnormally hot weather and 150-year-old drought had fueled these fires as reported by the Moscow Times. UN had published that the last 6 years recorded the highest temperatures on a worldwide basis.
Wildfire smoke filled the skies and was stretching from Mongolia to the North Pole. The smoke was also seen over Nunavut, Canada, and Greenland as reported by NASA. The area covered was approximately 2,000 miles from west to east and 2,500 miles from south to north.
The Siberian wildfires are very uncommon as the region is mostly covered in permafrost. Sakha is the largest territory in Russia and is known as the “Permafrost Kingdom”. The name makes no sense now as it is turning into a Capital of Wildfires due to the wildfire smoke. 2million hectares of Sakha were burned down to the ground in 2021.
The wildfire was due to the heat and drought, observed in North America and Europe. The Dixie Fire is held to be the largest fire in California and 5,800 sq. km had burned down since spring. Several months are still left before the fire season ends in the State.
Wildfires are a common phenomenon but the razing of the Russian territories comes as a surprise. The Large scale transport of wildfire smoke is continuing for several days and has reached the North Pole. This is the time where responsible governments should step up and take measures to challenge this problem at its base.
