Publication Date October 20, 2015 | Inverse

Alaska's explosive wildfire season is fueling and feeding on climate change

United States
The Alder Fire burns in Yellowstone National Park in 2013. Image: Mike Lewelling / National Park Service
The Alder Fire burns in Yellowstone National Park in 2013. Image: Mike Lewelling / National Park Service

Despite a NASA prediction, the 2015 season came just short of the 2004 record for number of acres burned. But for the sheer speed of forests lighting up...this season may be unprecedented...With climate change increasing the frequency and severity of fires in the boreal ecosystem in particular, the forest could one day switch from carbon sink to carbon emitter. Some scientists say it already has.