For the first time in recorded history smoke from wildfires has reached the North Pole. According to images from a NASA satellite, wildfires from Siberia’s dense boreal forest has released so much smoke that it can be seen at the North Pole.
The area covered by wildfires in Yakutia, Russia’s coldest territory & its capital of permafrost reached nearly 5.7million hectares, Ministry of emergencies said. 2 days ago smoke from wildfires in Yakutia reached the North Pole for the first time in history #wildfires2021Russia pic.twitter.com/gDByjLFc8e
— The Siberian Times (@siberian_times) August 8, 2021
This true-color image, which was acquired by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite on August 6, was created using data from four passes of the satellite over the region. The smoke, which was so thick that most of the land below was obscured from view, stretches about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) from east to west and 2,500 miles (4,000 km) from south to north—but it captures only a small part of the smoke from the Russian fires, writes NASA.
According to EcoWatch, summer fires are being fueled by abnormally hot weather and a record 150-year drought. The last six years in that area have been the hottest on record worldwide.
Extreme drought and heat have been an issue all across the globe this year. Fire season does not seem to be coming to an end for months still.
NASA said smoke could also be seen in parts of Mongolia, Canada and western Greenland, reported The Hill.
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