Scientists alarmed after two wildfires hit Greenland within a week
Key takeaways
- Researchers and emergency services are still unsure what ignited the now burned tundra in Greenland.
- Prefer the Guardian on Google Scientists have expressed concern after two wildfires broke out within a week of each other on the Arctic island of Greenland earlier this month.
- 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.
Why this matters: environmental and climate reporting with long-term consequences.
Researchers and emergency services are still unsure what ignited the now burned tundra in Greenland. Photograph: Sander Veraverbeke View image in fullscreen Researchers and emergency services are still unsure what ignited the now burned tundra in Greenland. Photograph: Sander Veraverbeke Wildfires Scientists alarmed after two wildfires hit Greenland within a week Researchers say it is ‘quite wild’ to see fires at such high northern latitudes happen so early in the year
Prefer the Guardian on Google 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.