Arctic wildfire carbon emissions strongly influenced by midsummer Tibetan Plateau precipitation
Abstract Wildfires in the Arctic are accelerating ecosystem damage and increasing global carbon emissions. Siberia, a major Arctic wildfire hotspot, is shaped by both local weather and distant climate influences. Here we use climate reanalysis data and numerical model experiments to show that summer...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Communications Earth & Environment |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02505-9 |
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| _version_ | 1849332066431270912 |
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| author | Xiaoye Yang Haolin Luo Ziqian Zhong Chang-Hoi Ho Gang Zeng Hui-Wen Lai Tinghai Ou Wei-Chyung Wang Deliang Chen |
| author_facet | Xiaoye Yang Haolin Luo Ziqian Zhong Chang-Hoi Ho Gang Zeng Hui-Wen Lai Tinghai Ou Wei-Chyung Wang Deliang Chen |
| author_sort | Xiaoye Yang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Wildfires in the Arctic are accelerating ecosystem damage and increasing global carbon emissions. Siberia, a major Arctic wildfire hotspot, is shaped by both local weather and distant climate influences. Here we use climate reanalysis data and numerical model experiments to show that summer wildfires in Siberia are strongly influenced by rainfall patterns over the Tibetan Plateau, one of the Northern Hemisphere’s largest summer heat sources. A dipole in Tibetan Plateau rainfall—wetter in the west, drier in the east—coincides with more fires in central Siberia and fewer in the east. This pattern alters high-altitude winds, shifting the jet stream northward and generating air flow changes that create favorable fire conditions across Siberia. Model experiments support a causal link. The resulting carbon dioxide emissions can match annual emissions from all Nordic countries. These findings highlight an overlooked driver of Arctic wildfires and improve our understanding of their role in the global carbon cycle. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c6f6cbe32b5c4c8ca249e4ab5af5cb7c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2662-4435 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Earth & Environment |
| spelling | doaj-art-c6f6cbe32b5c4c8ca249e4ab5af5cb7c2025-08-20T03:46:20ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Earth & Environment2662-44352025-07-01611810.1038/s43247-025-02505-9Arctic wildfire carbon emissions strongly influenced by midsummer Tibetan Plateau precipitationXiaoye Yang0Haolin Luo1Ziqian Zhong2Chang-Hoi Ho3Gang Zeng4Hui-Wen Lai5Tinghai Ou6Wei-Chyung Wang7Deliang Chen8Regional Climate Group, Department of Earth Sciences, University of GothenburgSchool of Atmospheric Sciences/Plateau Atmosphere and Environment Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province/Meteorological Disaster Prediction and Warning Engineering Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu University of Information TechnologyDepartment of Space, Earth and Environment, Division of Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Chalmers University of TechnologyDepartment of Climate and Energy Systems Engineering, Ewha Womans UniversityKey Laboratory of Meteorological Disaster of Ministry of Education (KLME), Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters (CIC-FEMD), Nanjing University of Information Science and TechnologyRegional Climate Group, Department of Earth Sciences, University of GothenburgRegional Climate Group, Department of Earth Sciences, University of GothenburgAtmospheric Sciences Research Center, University at Albany, State University of New YorkRegional Climate Group, Department of Earth Sciences, University of GothenburgAbstract Wildfires in the Arctic are accelerating ecosystem damage and increasing global carbon emissions. Siberia, a major Arctic wildfire hotspot, is shaped by both local weather and distant climate influences. Here we use climate reanalysis data and numerical model experiments to show that summer wildfires in Siberia are strongly influenced by rainfall patterns over the Tibetan Plateau, one of the Northern Hemisphere’s largest summer heat sources. A dipole in Tibetan Plateau rainfall—wetter in the west, drier in the east—coincides with more fires in central Siberia and fewer in the east. This pattern alters high-altitude winds, shifting the jet stream northward and generating air flow changes that create favorable fire conditions across Siberia. Model experiments support a causal link. The resulting carbon dioxide emissions can match annual emissions from all Nordic countries. These findings highlight an overlooked driver of Arctic wildfires and improve our understanding of their role in the global carbon cycle.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02505-9 |
| spellingShingle | Xiaoye Yang Haolin Luo Ziqian Zhong Chang-Hoi Ho Gang Zeng Hui-Wen Lai Tinghai Ou Wei-Chyung Wang Deliang Chen Arctic wildfire carbon emissions strongly influenced by midsummer Tibetan Plateau precipitation Communications Earth & Environment |
| title | Arctic wildfire carbon emissions strongly influenced by midsummer Tibetan Plateau precipitation |
| title_full | Arctic wildfire carbon emissions strongly influenced by midsummer Tibetan Plateau precipitation |
| title_fullStr | Arctic wildfire carbon emissions strongly influenced by midsummer Tibetan Plateau precipitation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Arctic wildfire carbon emissions strongly influenced by midsummer Tibetan Plateau precipitation |
| title_short | Arctic wildfire carbon emissions strongly influenced by midsummer Tibetan Plateau precipitation |
| title_sort | arctic wildfire carbon emissions strongly influenced by midsummer tibetan plateau precipitation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02505-9 |
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