Greenland Hit by Unusual Early Summer Wildfires

The Unusual Early Summer Wildfires in Greenland

Scientists have expressed concern after two wildfires broke out within a week of each other on the Arctic island of Greenland earlier this month.

Fires were burning close to Sisimiut, Greenland's second largest town and a popular tourism centre, on 14 and 15 June, satellite imagery has shown, while a second blaze hit Kujalleq, on the island's southern tip, on 17 June.

Details of the Fires and Their Causes

While most of Greenland, a largely autonomous territory, is covered in vast ice sheets and thick glaciers, a significant part is ice-free and covered in tundra. Wildfires in these areas are rare, but becoming more common.

For two fires to break out this early in the summer, however, is particularly unusual. “Vegetation fires at high northern latitudes are more usual in July and August,” said Dr Mark Parrington, a senior scientist at Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service.

The Impact of Climate Change on Wildfires

Climate breakdown has heated the Arctic four times faster than the rest of the planet. Parrington said it was “challenging” to determine why the latest fires had occurred earlier than usual but that Copernicus data showed “anomalously high” air temperatures that could make vegetation more flammable.

Fires that burn peaty soil in Arctic tundra can spew large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, hastening the heating of the planet that helps fires spread.

The Future Outlook for Wildfires in Greenland

“But the fires still need an ignition source,” he said. Sonja Diaz, a scientist at the Environmental Change Research Unit of the University of Helsinki, who conducted field research in Greenland after a major wildfire in 2019, said the timing was not unheard of but that it felt “quite wild” to see the island burning so early in the year.

“Wet [conditions] and snow do not favour fire ignition and spread,” she said. “The conditions need to be warm and dry enough.”