Thread by @WIRED

The Arctic is burning. Yes, that Arctic—the traditionally cold and wet one—is being consumed by an astonishing number of wildfires. Making matters worse: Many of them are burning through peatlands—the largest natural terrestrial carbon store on Earth 1/ wired.trib.al/b71nFuZ

Arctic fires are not unprecedented, but the number of fires this year is. So far in 2019, they have released some 121 megatonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere, more than what Belgium emits annually 2/ wired.trib.al/b71nFuZ

That’s because these are no ordinary wildfires. They’re burning peat, which you may know as the substance that gives Scotch its smoky flavor. Peat also forms the foundation of whole ecosystems, known as peatlands 3/ wired.trib.al/b71nFuZ

Thriving peatland can actually act as a fire break, stopping wildfires from spreading. But due to our warming arctic, they’re becoming drier and denser. And dry peat is one of the most flammable substances in nature 4/ wired.trib.al/b71nFuZ

When peat catches fire, it smolders like a lit cigarette, gradually burning deeper into the ground and moving laterally across the ecosystem, carving enormous holes in the soil 5/ wired.trib.al/b71nFuZ

Making matters worse: Unhealthy peatlands don’t capture CO2. They’re adding carbon to the atmosphere without subtracting any. The extent to which this is affecting climate change is not yet clear.

But it is clear that this issue is supremely urgent 6/ wired.trib.al/b71nFuZ