Scientists have voiced significant concern following two wildfires that erupted within a week of each other on the Arctic island of Greenland earlier this month. Satellite imagery confirmed blazes near Sisimiut, Greenland's second-largest town, on 14 and 15 June, with a second fire striking Kujalleq, on the island's southern tip, on 17 June. While much of Greenland is famously ice-covered, substantial ice-free areas comprise tundra, where wildfires are historically uncommon but are now appearing with increasing frequency.
The timing of these fires has particularly raised eyebrows among researchers. Dr Mark Parrington, a senior scientist at the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, noted that vegetation fires at such high northern latitudes typically occur later in the summer, usually in July and August. Sonja Diaz, a scientist from the University of Helsinki's Environmental Change Research Unit who has conducted fieldwork in Greenland, described seeing the island burn so early in the year as "quite wild," emphasising that warm and dry conditions are necessary for ignition and spread, which are not usually present so early.
Local emergency managers have attributed the fires to a combination of factors. Inunnguaq Eigil Lundblad, emergency manager for Qeqqata municipality, which includes Sisimiut, stated that the fire there began due to "reckless" human activity, compounded by a winter with little snow and subsequent low rainfall, leading to exceptionally dry soil. Similarly, Miki Sikemsen, emergency manager for Kujalleq municipality, reported unusually dry weather conditions and a lack of significant rainfall since May, leaving vegetation highly flammable. Pelle Tejsner, an associate professor at the University of Greenland, warned that the dry soil conditions mean "more fires could be expected."
The increase in these events is starkly illustrated by previous research. A study examining fires in western Greenland's ice-free regions found no recorded blazes between 1995 and 2007. However, it subsequently documented 21 separate fire events between 2008 and 2020, including significant fires in 2017 and 2019. This trend aligns with the broader climate crisis, which has seen the Arctic region heat up four times faster than the rest of the planet. While an ignition source is always required, Copernicus data indicates "anomalously high" air temperatures contributing to more flammable vegetation.
The implications of these Arctic fires extend beyond the immediate damage. Fires burning through the peaty soil of the tundra can release vast quantities of carbon into the atmosphere. This, in turn, accelerates global warming, creating a feedback loop that further promotes the conditions for more fires. Preliminary research by Sonja Diaz, currently under peer review, suggests that the carbon released per square metre from Greenland wildfires is significantly higher than previously understood for other tundra fires. Furthermore, this research indicates the carbon released is ancient, having been sequestered in the ground for hundreds to thousands of years, meaning its release represents a substantial contribution to atmospheric carbon levels.
Lucas Diaz, an environmental engineer at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and part of the research team, highlighted the common misconception of Greenland as solely a land of ice. He stressed that its ice-free tundra regions are susceptible to ignition and burning, challenging public perception and underscoring the urgent need for global fire models to incorporate data from Arctic environments to better predict and manage these emerging threats.
Source: Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, University of Helsinki, University of Greenland, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam