Produced by: Manoj Kumar
Once a vital carbon sink, the Arctic-Boreal Zone (ABZ) is now releasing more CO₂ than it captures. Large swathes of tundra, forests, and wetlands are shifting from absorbers to emitters, disrupting millennia-old climate patterns.
Wildfires are accelerating this shift. Research shows that 40% of the ABZ emitted more CO₂ than it absorbed between 2001 and 2020 when wildfires were factored in—up from 34% without them. The Arctic is burning, and the consequences are global.
The Arctic breathes in summer and exhales in winter. Photosynthesis thrives in warmer months, but unseasonably warm winters expose more soil and organic matter, causing carbon emissions to spike beyond historical norms.
Nearly half of Earth’s soil carbon is locked beneath Arctic permafrost. As temperatures rise, that frozen vault is opening. The more it melts, the more CO₂ and methane it releases—fueling a feedback loop that accelerates warming.
The ABC Flux network, using 200 carbon monitoring stations, is tracking these changes with high-resolution data. According to ecologist Sue Natali of Woodwell Climate, “We now have the capability to track and map carbon processes at a spatial resolution that reveals what’s happening on the ground.”
This carbon shift isn’t just happening in the Arctic. Parts of the Amazon Rainforest are also emitting more CO₂ than they absorb, a disturbing sign that two of Earth’s biggest carbon buffers are failing simultaneously.
At first glance, the ABZ appears to be absorbing more carbon overall than in 1990. However, ecologist Anna Virkkala warns, “Source regions and fires are now canceling out much of that net uptake and reversing long-standing trends.”
A “greener” Arctic may sound positive, but it’s deceptive. More vegetation means more CO₂ absorption, but it also accelerates decomposition and soil thawing, leading to a net carbon release that could reshape global climate dynamics.
Ecologist Marguerite Mauritz of the University of Texas-El Paso warns, “Shifting seasonal dynamics and disturbance patterns can have regional and even global impacts.” The Arctic’s transformation isn’t just a local crisis—it’s a planetary one.