Morocco’s Forest Fires Reach 20-Year High in Carbon Emissions, EU Data Shows

The fires that occurred in Morocco and Spain during the period have claimed hundreds of victims and produced a significant amount of greenhouse gases harmful to health. Morocco produced 480,000 tons of carbon emissions from the fires in June-July this year, the highest level in the past two decades, according to Copernicus data collected since 2003.

The fires in Spain, on the other hand, produced 1.3 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions between June and July, exceeding its previous record of 1.1 million tons of carbon emissions in June-July 2012. "Spain’s emissions are already higher than in the past 20 years," said Mark Parrington, senior researcher at Copernicus, to Reuters.

Wildfires emitted 1.76 billion tons of carbon worldwide in 2021, sweeping through regions such as Siberia, the United States and the Mediterranean. France is also approaching a record for fire emissions, with an emission of 344,000 tons of carbon in June-July this year, the highest figure since June-July 2003.