Fires in the Arctic

A forest fire outside the village of Berdigestyakh, just below the Arctic Circle, in July last year.Credit...Dimitar Dilkoff/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

                Scientists have proven that one of the major changes that goes along with climate change is the general increase in temperatures across the world, while not every region faces this burden equally, increasing temperatures can have drastic impacts on communities. One area that has been facing the consequences of warming temperatures is the Siberian states of Russia. According to a study cited in the New York Times, from  1982 to 2020, 23 million acres of Siberia had burned. Out of this total, almost half occurred in 2019 and 2020. Since then this total has increased as in the month of July fires burnt over 10,400 square miles. Lightning storms and strong winds have only worsened the conditions of the fire and have been blowing smoke as far north as the arctic circle. While lightning storms and wind certainly do not help, an increase in temperature in Siberia is yet another culprit. The average temperatures in Siberia in this summer have been as much as 8 degrees celsius above the average temperature. These increases in temperature may allow for wildfires to blaze this historically very cold environment with much more ease. 

            One of the negative impacts that the smoke has on human lives in Russia is the spreading of smoke. While much of these fires are in very remote areas and may not be burning near civilization, the smoke spreads very far distances impacting the air quality of Russians. 

Another negative impact caused by warming temperatures and smoke, not only does the smoke have the ability to trap heat and further increase temperatures but this also means that vegetation will be vulnerable to fires longer than before. These areas that do not usually burn lead to huge deposits of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Increasing temperatures and fires also cause the melting of permafrost in the northern and arctic regions. Permafrost is permanently frozen ground that lies under most of the Siberian arctic. The melting of permafrost is problematic because as it melts it releases methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is often the center of attention when it comes to climate change but other greenhouse gasses such as methane are not as common but have stronger warming effects. The release of methane from permafrost only adds fuel to the positive feedback loop of climate change. 

The release of greenhouse gasses and fires in remote parts of Siberia may seem very far removed from the discussion of human rights, but it is not. The fires of Siberia are yet another example of the rate at which climate change is starting to impact our world. It is no longer a problem for the future, but it is a problem for the present. This specific example does not directly affect a large number of people’s rights but it will only add to the greater cycle that is creating extreme weather events such as flooding and drought that are impacting humanity on a global scale. 

Sources: 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/03/climate/siberia-fires-climate-change.html

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/31072019/siberia-arctic-wildfires-russia-state-emergency-climate-change-global-warming/?gclid=CjwKCAjw8JKbBhBYEiwAs3sxN-T8rcnz5bUp-qF6r11nspm68T9YLVIl2qUc9y5FFDGmigbJphDxNRoCYsMQAvD_BwE