Wildfires are increasingly depleting the carbon budget set to limit global heating, with severe implications for tree cover and carbon storage as temperatures rise.
The latest temperature threshold for pronounced forest impacts is 1.34C above preindustrial levels, which highlights that we are nearing or may have already surpassed this limit.
Each wildfire not only releases carbon but also diminishes forests' ability to absorb carbon dioxide, exacerbating the already elevated global temperatures caused by fossil fuel burning.
Compounding factors, including drought and land clearance for agriculture in South America, are transforming forests from vital carbon sinks into significant carbon sources.
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