647 megatons of CO2 were released by Canada's wildfires, more than these countries total emissions

The study published in the journal Nature found that Canadian wildfires released 647 megatonnes of carbon last year, exceeding emissions of major countries like Germany, Japan, and Russia.

Brendan Byrne, an atmospheric scientist, stressed that to effectively manage carbon dioxide levels, adaptations must be made to account for forest carbon absorption's variability.

With 15 million hectares of forest affected, the 2023 fires highlight that extreme weather from climate change is destabilizing traditional carbon sink roles of forests.

The findings challenge reliance on forests as carbon sinks, suggesting they might be worsening climate change instead of helping mitigate it, jeopardizing global carbon budgets.

Read at Fast Company