Record Tree Losses in Northern Regions 2021

In 2021, tree cover decreased in northern areas of the planet and reached new highs. In 2021, tree losses in boreal forests (mainly in Canada, Alaska, and Russia) reached new highs. According to a World Resources Institute examination of Global Forest Watch data, 8.6 million hectares of forest cover vanished last year, which experts attribute primarily to the effects of climate change. In particular, the terrible fires that ravaged Russia’s boreal woods in 2021.

Which Northern Hemisphere Countries Are There?

The Northern region is above the equator and extends up to and through the Arctic Circle.

The Northern Hemisphere, sometimes known as the land hemisphere, has 68 percent of the planet’s landmasses and 87 percent of its inhabitants. The Northern Hemisphere has several nations and is home to around 6.4 billion people.

The Northern Hemisphere is often known as the Land Hemisphere since it comprises most of its land and continents. It is twice as large as the Southern Hemisphere, with 40% land and 60% sea.

Most of the world’s countries are situated in this hemisphere since it has more land than the Southern Hemisphere.

Brazil was again at the forefront, with a considerable increase in tree loss due to agricultural development. However, the new data only shows the loss of tree cover in 2021, not the total net image after new plantings.

Researchers are concentrating their efforts in the world’s tropical regions, which account for nearly all deforestation. When it comes to core tropical forests, Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo are at the top of the list, as they have been for many years.

What is the reason behind this tree loss?

Climate change is a significant contributor to tree loss in these places, with hotter, drier weather resulting in more wildfires and insect damage.

More than 6.5 million hectares were burned in Russia’s worst fire season since records began in 2001.
As you move closer to the poles, global warming accelerates, creating a shifting environment and ecology that can’t cope. As a result, we’re witnessing fires that burn more frequently, more intensely, and more extensively than in normal conditions.

Outside of northern regions, tropical tree losses were highly significant; in terms of carbon, the destruction of these trees was equivalent to India’s annual fossil fuel emissions.

According to researchers, Brazil accounted for more than 40% of the main forest loss, with non-fire related damage increasing by 9% overall, often connected with agricultural growth. The losses were as high as 25% in some crucial states in the western Amazon.

The palm oil price is at a 40-year high, which may encourage interest in expanding palm oil plantation lands. In addition, in 2020, a temporary moratorium on new oil palm farms was not extended.

One hundred forty-one nations agreed to “stop and reverse forest loss by 2030” at COP26 in Glasgow last autumn. However, many countries will need to take considerable and swift action, which is now lacking.

One of the most severe worries is that a fast-changing climate might jeopardize their efforts despite many governments’ remarkable attempts to protect forests.

Wildfires are frequently connected to climate change’s hotter, drier conditions, which exacerbate the local consequences of deforestation.

And the loss of forest resilience is bringing us closer to tipping points, such as the complete conversion of the Amazon rainforest to savanna grassland, which would release enough carbon into the atmosphere to derail the Paris Agreement’s aims completely.

IN 2021, WE SAW CLIMATE EFFECTS-Extreme weather and other tragedies last year demonstrated that unless we act, the climate issue will only worsen.

1. HEATWAVES

Heatwaves are getting longer and more often, putting many people in danger. That is how 2021 unfolded in this scenario. The hottest month in history was July. Death Valley, California, set a new record for the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth on July 9, 2021, at 130.0 degrees Fahrenheit.

According to experts, the heatwave in the Pacific Northwest in 2021 was the “most anomalous” high heat event ever recorded on Earth. It resulted in hundreds of deaths and set new temperature records by 10 degrees Fahrenheit or more in some regions.

2. FLOODS

Climate change disturbs the water cycle, increasing the likelihood and severity of downpours and catastrophic floods. This year, such phenomena were witnessed all around the world. The latest floods in Canada might be the most expensive natural disaster in history, costing up to $7.5 billion.
In July, more than 180 people perished in Maharashtra, India, due to floods and landslides.

Several rivers in Brazil flooded in May, affecting about half a million people (450,000+). South Sudan has been hit by the worst floods in 60 years, affecting 780,000 people, or one in every 14 citizens. Flooding in the country has surpassed records for the third year.

3. WILDFIRES

Hot, dry conditions caused by climate change enhance and extend fire activity worldwide. This phenomenon was visible all around the planet in 2021. The Bootleg Fire scorched almost 400,000 acres in Oregon, making it the state’s third-largest wildfire.

California’s Dixie Fire, which burned over half a million acres and 400 homes and businesses this year, became the state’s second-largest in history.

In 2021, wildfires in Russia burnt more than 18.16 million hectares of forest, breaking the previous record for the most devastating fire season since the government began utilizing satellites to track forest fires in 2001. The previous high was achieved in 2012 when forest fires consumed 18.11 million hectares.

Overview

Historic cities and vast rural regions serve as vital natural ecosystems and agricultural lands in the Northeast. The climate varies significantly over the area, with the north, high altitudes, and distance from the shore being the coldest.

The climate in the Northeast is changing, and these changes are projected to worsen in the future. For example, the length of summer has risen, according to recent research on how climate change is altering the Northern Hemisphere’s seasons. Winter, on the other hand, has become shorter. Even minor seasonal fluctuations can cause ecological disruption and significant health risks like heat waves and wildfires.

Read More Competitiveness on a Global Scale