This weekly round-up brings you key climate news from the past seven days, including the beginning of Canada’s wildfire season and new, concerning data on global carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.
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1. Current CO2 Growth Rate Fastest in 50,000 Years: Study
By analyzing ancient Antarctic ice, the researchers were able to uncover a pattern of abrupt climate shifts and identify the unprecedented nature of the current CO2 rise. The research team undertook a detailed chemical analysis of ice cores extracted from the Antarctic, which contain air bubbles trapped over hundreds of thousands of years, serving as a valuable record of past climate conditions.
The study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), demonstrates that the rate of CO2 increase today is ten times higher than the previous natural rises observed in history and “largely driven by human emissions.”
“Studying the past teaches us how today is different. The rate of CO2 change today really is unprecedented,” said Dr Kathleen Wendt, assistant professor at Oregon State University and lead author of the study.
Read more here.
2. British Columbia Wildfires Generate Record Emissions for May
According to data by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), from May 1 to 15, wildfires in Canada generated a total of 15 megatonnes of carbon, one of the highest of the past 22 years of CAMS data set. British Columbia accounted for over 12 megatonnes, surpassing twice the previous highest recorded in May 2023.
“Following the highly impactful wildfires that burned across Canada in 2023, the scale and intensity of the current fires in British Columbia is highly concerning so early in the season,” said CAMS senior scientist Mark Parrington. “The scale of the ongoing fires, and their impacts on local communities and the atmosphere, underscore the urgent need for continuous monitoring and assessment.”
Fires broke out in Western Canada earlier this month, prompting the evacuation of thousands of residents in British Columbia and neighboring Alberta.
Read more here.
3. April Heatwave in Asia Made More Likely and Extreme by Climate Change, Study Finds
A series of record-breaking heatwaves that hit most parts of the Asian continent in April, impacting millions of highly vulnerable people, was made more likely to occur and more extreme by human-made climate change, new research has shown.
A group of 13 scientists at World Weather Attribution (WWA) analyzed recent and historical weather data and climate models to compare how last month’s heatwaves have changed between today’s climate – which has warmed approximately 1.2C – and the cooler pre-industrial climate.
According to WWA, climate change made this kind of heat in West Asia – a one in ten-year event in the current climate – about five times more likely to occur and 1.7C hotter. In a 2C warming scenario, similar heatwaves will occur around once every five years and will be an extra 1C hotter, the study said.
Similarly, the heat recorded in the Philippines last month was made about 1C hotter by climate change and a further 0.2C hotter by El Niño, according to the study. Without anthropogenic climate change, such a heatwave would have been “virtually impossible,” WWA said, adding that, were global heating to reach 2C above pre-industrial level, the Philippines would experience such an event every two to three years, down from once every ten years in the current climate.
Read more here.
4. Thousands Ordered to Evacuate As Wildfires Rage Across Western Canada
Thousands of residents in Western Canada have been ordered to evacuate over the weekend as major wildfires spread across more than 24,000 acres (nearly 10,000 hectares), worsening air quality in the region.
The fires spread across British Columbia, prompting authorities to issue evacuation orders for thousands of residents in Northern Rockies Regional Municipality and Fort Nelson First Nations, and neighbouring Alberta, with residents of Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates, Gregoire Lake Estates, and Rickards Landing Industrial Park told to prepare to evacuate.
Speaking at a conference last month, Canadian minister for emergency preparedness Harjit Sajjan warned of potentially longer and “more explosive” wildfire season. “The temperature trends are very concerning. With the heat and dryness across the country, we can expect that the wildfire season will start sooner and end later and potentially be more explosive,” Sajjan said.
Read more here.
