Forests and bog land in far eastern Russia have been burning since the beginning of June 2012, reports the National Atmospheric and Space Administration website. Contributing to these record fires have been the record temperatures of this past Siberian summer, one of the hottest on record, with an average temperature ranging around 93 degrees Fahrenheit. While most wildfires have been extinguished, the Russian Information and News Agency reported that close to a half million acres have burned since the beginning of summer. wildfires are devastating to any area, but ecologically this is catastrophic for this region with many rare animals living in Siberia’s unique ecosystem. Furthermore, peatbogs that were drained in the 1900s for fuel and abandoned in the 50s were never reflooded, They became natural targets for unstoppable wildfires that continue to burn, contributing to current wildfire and air quality problems. These Russian peat fires are having worldwide effects because they ultimately release large quantities of carbon dioxide into the air, making it nearly unbreathable there, and more importantly, accelerating the greenhouse effect that causes global warming.
Source
For Peat’s Sake: Record Temperatures And Wildfires In Eastern Russia Drive Amplifying Carbon-Cycle Feedback originally at: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/fires/main/world/20120828-russia.html
