Warming, wildfires: Arctic now emitting more carbon than it absorbs, says NOAA

After locking carbon dioxide in its frozen soil for millennia, the Arctic tundra is undergoing a dramatic transformation, driven by frequent wildfires that are turning it into a net source of carbon dioxide emissions, a US agency said Tuesday.

- Agence France-Presse

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This stark shift is detailed in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 2024 Arctic Report Card, which revealed that annual surface air temperatures in the Arctic this year were the second-warmest on record since 1900.

"Our observations now show that the Arctic tundra, which is experiencing warming and increased wildfire, is now emitting more carbon than it stores, which will worsen climate change impacts," said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad.

"What happens in the Arctic doesn't stay in the Arctic," Anna Virkkala of the Woodwell Climate Research Center, who co-authored the report, added to AFP. "We should try to stop anthropogenic climate change as soon as possible, so that we can also stop the emissions from the Arctic eventually as well."

The finding is based on an average of observations recorded from 2001-2020.

Climate warming exerts dual effects on the Arctic. While it stimulates plant productivity and growth, which removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, it also leads to increased surface air temperatures that cause permafrost to thaw.