Shi et al. (2026) Increasing carbon emissions despite declining burned area in the Northern Hemisphere wildfires

Identification

• Journal: Atmospheric Research
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-04-01
• Authors: Rui Shi, Yuhui He, Ruitong Guo, X. Wang, Yaliang Hou, Yue Zhou, Xiaoying Niu, Hui Wen, Jun Liu, Wei Pu, Xin Wang, Dan Wu
• DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosres.2026.108980

Research Groups

[Not available in the provided text.]

Short Summary

This study reveals a critical trend in Northern Hemisphere wildfires, demonstrating an increase in carbon emissions despite a concurrent decline in the total burned area.

Objective

• To investigate and quantify the long-term trends of carbon emissions and burned area from wildfires across the Northern Hemisphere.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Northern Hemisphere
• Temporal Scale: Not explicitly stated, but implied to be a multi-year period to observe trends.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not available in the provided text.
• Data sources: Not available in the provided text.

Main Results

• Wildfire carbon emissions in the Northern Hemisphere are increasing.
• The total burned area due to wildfires in the Northern Hemisphere is declining.
• This indicates a decoupling of burned area and carbon emissions, suggesting potential shifts in fire behavior, fuel consumption, or fire types.

Contributions

• Identifies a significant and counter-intuitive trend where wildfire carbon emissions are rising despite a reduction in burned area in the Northern Hemisphere, highlighting a critical aspect of climate change and fire dynamics not previously emphasized.

Funding

• Not available in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Shi2026Increasing,
  author = {Shi, Rui and He, Yuhui and Guo, Ruitong and Wang, X. and Hou, Yaliang and Zhou, Yue and Niu, Xiaoying and Wen, Hui and Liu, Jun and Pu, Wei and Wang, Xin and Wu, Dan},
  title = {Increasing carbon emissions despite declining burned area in the Northern Hemisphere wildfires},
  journal = {Atmospheric Research},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.atmosres.2026.108980},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2026.108980}
}