This is almost the same as the annual emissions of Japan (the equivalent of 1.12 billion tons of CO2 in 2021), the world’s fifth-biggest polluter. That’s three times France’s annual emissions. And far more than the annual emissions of the entire global aviation sector in 2022 (almost 0.8 billion tons of CO2).
Maximum fire alarm for 90 days
According to the European Copernicus Observatory, the CO2 emissions caused by fires in Canada at the end of July were already more than double the previous annual record from 2014. With possible long-term consequences for health and the environment.
As of Friday, Canada was on a high fire alert for exactly 90 days, the longest on record. The previous record of 50 days was set in 2021.
“This year’s wildfire season has been very instructive and has shown us what to expect if we do nothing to reduce emissions,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, Secretary of State for Natural Resources, not hesitating to identify global warming as the “main cause”. to call.
13.5 million hectares burned
According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center (CIFFC), the major fires have so far burned 13.5 million hectares, the size of Greece, almost twice the area of the last all-time record set in 1989 of 7.3 million hectares. .
Since May, Canada has welcomed nearly 5,000 firefighters from 12 countries. More than 200 evacuation orders were issued, temporarily evicting nearly 168,000 Canadians from their homes.
Four people died fighting major Canadian fires that year.
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