Intense wildfires are ravaging the Arctic Circle, bringing smoke and high carbon emissions, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS).

The region had experienced 164 wildfires through June 24, most of which have been in the Sakha Republic of Russia, a press release from CAMS said.

According to data from the CAMS Global Fire Assimilation System, June wildfire carbon emissions are already the third highest for the month since 2003.

“The Arctic has been warming at a rate well above that of the planet as a whole. As a result, conditions at high northern latitudes are becoming more conducive to wildfires and a recent study shows that the northeast Arctic region, and boreal and temperate forests, have been experiencing increases in extreme wildfires. We witnessed this in 2019, 2020 and 2021, when the eastern Arctic and sub-Arctic regions experienced very high levels of wildfire activity, and again in 2023, especially at high latitudes in Canada,” said Mark Parrington, CAMS senior scientist, in the press release.

The authors of the most recent study noted that wildfire conditions are being exacerbated by climate change, and that fire behavior is getting worse in several regions with significant implications for human exposure and carbon storage.

Gail Whiteman, a professor of sustainability at University of Exeter Business School and the founder of Arctic Basecamp — a group of Arctic scientists and experts — said the Arctic is climate change ground zero.

“The increasing Siberian wildfires are a clear warning sign that this essential system is approaching dangerous climate tipping points. What happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay there – Arctic change amplifies risks globally for all of us. These fires are a warning cry for urgent action,” Whitecamp said in the press release.