The warning cry from artic Siberia is the temperature soared more than 5-degree Celcius ( 9°F) above normal to a record average for June. The European Union data shows that the region is experiencing is worth ever wildfires ever. Average temperatures in the arctic region were more than a degree higher than normal in June in the last two years which ultimately proves to be the warmest Junes ever.
Referring to some of the worst wildfires which have been intensified since the last month, Mark Parrington, senior scientist at Copernicus said,” The climate is changing faster in the artic and we are getting drier and warmer conditions which are ideal conditions for wildfires to burn.”
The Russian forestry agency reported that as of July 6, there have been 246 forest fires, covering 140,073 hectares of land leading to an emergency in seven regions so far. The extreme heat-dye to rise in temperature have set wildernesses ablaze and those in turn have ignited the normally waterlogged peatlands. Scientists fear that such wildfires are early signs of drier conditions which will be a threat to biodiversity as it will proliferate greenhouse gases in the air.
The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet and the few factors resulting in polar/arctic amplification are:
•Melting of sea ice. Myer Smith, ecologist, University of Edinburgh global change noted, “ If the sea ice melts it will remove the white surface and in return expose the inner darker ocean surface which will absorb more solar heat.” Sea ice is also returning later as temperatures are taking more time to drop in autumn.
•Ocean currents which have been changing over time as melting ice is injecting more freshwater which is less denser than saltwater and hence floats, the acceleration of the winds because of the missing air mixes up colder freshwater above and warmer saltwater below further rising the temperatures.
•Changing patterns of weather which are influenced by ocean currents and are responsible for the movements of hot and cold air masses over the Northern hemisphere, when the artic warms the jet streams undulates wildly north and south injecting warm air in artic in summers.
What would be the resultant damage if these effects continue?
Climatologists are worried about the recent record-breaking temperatures as warm summers are uncommon to artic region. The scientists at the European centre says the wildfires are “a cause of concern” as it leads to the decomposition of the organic matter(plants and vegetables) in return increasing the amount of methane, another greenhouse gas in the air. The change in weather patterns can intensity storms and can even invite floods and at mid-latitudes including floods, droughts, cold spells and heatwaves.
The Brazilian Amazon forest, the largest rainforest in the world has recently experienced huge wildfires which affected far off places, most fires here occur in the months of August and September when region grows drier and farmers clearing lands for crops.
With the ongoing pandemic, the economics have been deteriorating and experts fear that with already drained economy floundering health care it’s difficult to cope up with other threats to the mother earth.
Also read- Arctic Is Warming Twice As Fast Than Elsewhere In The Planet
How can the situation be evolved?
However the notable changes are inseparable as temperatures rising depends on a variety of factors, international organisations can join hands and work to protect the biodiversity and conserve the resources. The experimental activities in such regions should be restricted to scientific and technical research.
The developed countries should co-operate and provide the developing ones with better technological advances and tactics which would cause less damage to the environment and intensive agriculture and production of greenhouse gases need to be controlled if we aspire to save our future for the upcoming generations.
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