{"id":40886,"date":"2025-04-10T21:10:36","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T15:40:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=40886"},"modified":"2025-04-10T21:11:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T15:41:11","slug":"the-arctic-boreal-zone-abz-rejects-more-carbon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/10-04-2025\/the-arctic-boreal-zone-abz-rejects-more-carbon","title":{"rendered":"The Arctic Boreal Zone (ABZ) Rejects More Carbon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Environment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>According to a new study published in Nature, the increasing ferocity of wildfires means that<strong> more than 30% of the Arctic Boreal Zone (ABZ)<\/strong> has now <strong>stopped capturing carbon and is instead releasing it.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The findings align with the <strong>National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA\u2019s) 2024 Arctic Report Card.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It also highlighted that the Arctic tundra, a treeless region, is becoming a net carbon source, largely due to warming temperatures and escalating wildfire activity in the Northern polar region.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Arctic Boreal Zone (ABZ)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>ABZ is a critical region in the northern hemisphere, characterized<strong> by its unique ecosystems and significant role in regulating global carbon cycles.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Geographical Location:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The ABZ spans across the Arctic Circle, including parts of <strong>Alaska, northern Europe, and Siberia.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It includes<strong> tundra, coniferous forests, wetlands, and permafrost regions.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Carbon Sink: <\/strong>The ABZ has historically acted as a significant carbon sink, absorbing large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO\u2082) from the atmosphere through its forests, soil, and permafrost.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The tundra and wetlands in the ABZ sequester carbon in the form of organic material frozen in permafrost, which helps mitigate global warming.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"dee0e0\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"756\" height=\"419\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/04\/The-Arctic-Boreal-Zone.webp\" alt=\"The Arctic Boreal Zone\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-40887\" style=\"--dominant-color: #dee0e0; width:464px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/04\/The-Arctic-Boreal-Zone.webp 756w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/04\/The-Arctic-Boreal-Zone-300x166.webp 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 756px) 100vw, 756px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Recent Wildfires:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Multiple U.S. states (Texas, Oklahoma, California) and Japan (Ofunato) faced severe wildfires in early 2025.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India\u2019s forest fire hotspots dropped, but the number of fires remains high, particularly in Uttarakhand, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Rising land temperatures and prolonged heat waves contribute to more intense fires.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Carbon Emissions:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Wildfires in January 2025 released 800,000 tonnes of carbon, <strong>nearly four times the amount released a decade ago.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Wildfires worldwide significantly contribute to carbon emissions,<strong> including 69 million tonnes annually in India.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Carbon Sinks and the Arctic Boreal Zone (ABZ):<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Oceans, forests, and soil are carbon sinks, but wildfires have <strong>disrupted their ability to absorb carbon.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The ABZ, once a significant carbon sink, has <strong>started releasing carbon, especially due to thawing permafrost and increased wildfires.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Over 30% of the ABZ now releases carbon<\/strong>, reversing its long-standing role as a carbon sink.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/energy-and-environment\/wildfires-arctic-boreal-zone-carbon-sink-emissions\/article69360974.ece\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">According to a new study published in Nature, the increasing ferocity of wildfires means that more than 30% of the Arctic Boreal Zone (ABZ) has now stopped capturing carbon and is instead releasing it.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>About<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The findings align with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA\u2019s) 2024 Arctic Report Card.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">It also highlighted that the Arctic tundra, a treeless region, is becoming a net carbon source, largely due to warming temperatures and escalating wildfire activity in the Northern polar region.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/10-04-2025\/the-arctic-boreal-zone-abz-rejects-more-carbon\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40886"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40886\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40903,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40886\/revisions\/40903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}