Severe Global Environmental Issues Caused by Canada’s Record-Breaking Wildfires in 2023  

作　　者：Zhe WANG Zifa WANG Zhiyin ZOU Xueshun CHEN Huangjian WU Wending WANG Hang SU Fang LI Wenru XU Zhihua LIU Jiaojun ZHU 

机构地区：[1]State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry,Institute of Atmospheric Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100029,China [2]International Center for Climate and Environment Sciences,Institute of Atmospheric Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100029,China [3]Institute of Applied Ecology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Shenyang 110016,China

出　　处：《Advances in Atmospheric Sciences》2024年第4期565-571,共7页大气科学进展（英文版）

基　　金：the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.92044302);the National Key Research and Development Program(Grant Nos.2020YFA0607801,2022YFE0106500);the National Key Scientific and Technological Infrastructure project“Earth System Numerical Simulation Facility”(EarthLab).

摘　　要：Due to the record-breaking wildfires that occurred in Canada in 2023,unprecedented quantities of air pollutants and greenhouse gases were released into the atmosphere.The wildfires had emitted more than 1.3 Pg CO_(2)and 0.14 Pg CO_(2)equivalent of other greenhouse gases(GHG)including CH4 and N_(2)O as of 31 August.The wildfire-related GHG emissions constituted more than doubled Canada’s planned cumulative anthropogenic emissions reductions in 10 years,which represents a significant challenge to climate mitigation efforts.The model simulations showed that the Canadian wildfires impacted not only the local air quality but also that of most areas in the northern hemisphere due to long-range transport,causing severe PM_(2.5)pollution in the northeastern United States and increasing daily mean PM_(2.5)concentration in northwestern China by up to 2μg m-3.The observed maximum daily mean PM_(2.5)concentration in New York City reached 148.3μg m-3,which was their worst air quality in more than 50 years,nearly 10 times that of the air quality guideline(i.e.,15μg m-3)issued by the World Health Organization(WHO).Aside from the direct emissions from forest fires,the peat fires beneath the surface might smolder for several months or even longer and release substantial amounts of CO_(2).The substantial amounts of greenhouse gases from forest and peat fires might contribute to the positive feedback to the climate,potentially accelerating global warming.To better understand the comprehensive environmental effects of wildfires and their interactions with the climate system,more detailed research based on advanced observations and Earth System Models is essential.

关 键 词：CANADA forest fire greenhouse gases PM_(2.5) transboundary air pollution 

分 类 号：X51[环境科学与工程—环境工程] S762[农业科学—森林保护学]