Greenland, the land of ice and snow, is burning – Grist
Article Synopsis – A 1,200 acre wildfire is burning in Greenland- the largest recorded since reliable satellite-based fire detection records began in Greenland in 2000. The European Commission has tasked its Emergency Management Service with a rapid mapping of the region of the fire, in part to help local officials assess the risks to public health. The fire is part of the pattern of warming and they are expected to increase. A 2013 study found that across the entire Arctic, forests are burning at a rate unseen in at least 10,000 years. It’s possible that soot from these fires could be transported up to the ice sheet, where it might speed local melting in the coming years by darkening the surface of the ice, helping it to absorb more energy from the sun and creating a new, scary feedback loop. To read the actual article click here.
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