Satellite Monitoring of Siberian Wildfires and Their Effects: Features of 2019 Anomalies and Trends of 20-Year Changes

Abstract

Abstract The features of anomalous Siberian wildfires in 2019 and trends of their changes during 2000–2019 are analyzed on the basis of satellite monitoring data. The average values of wildfire areas; total volumes of CO, CO2, and aerosol PM2.5 emissions; and their density (per area unit) in the Siberian Federal District of Russia and its regions are estimated for a 20-year period, as well as the number, radiative power, and spatial distribution of wildfires on the territory of North Eurasia in 2019. In July 2019, the wildfire area in Irkutsk oblast exceeded the average value for the period of 2001–2019 by more than four times, whereas the related total volumes of emissions of CO, CO2, and PM2.5 aerosol in June 2019 were five times higher than their average values for this period. The regional weather-climate features of summer 2019 were revealed using on-land observations and reanalysis, in particular, atmospheric blocking, which is related to the formation of extreme regimes of wildfires and floods in adjacent territories of Siberia.