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> Last year, Russian fires burned 4.7 billion trees, seven times more than were planted, according to a Greenpeace study using satellite images. In one month, R

> Last year, Russian fires burned 4.7 billion trees, seven times more than were planted, according to a Greenpeace study using satellite images. In one month, Russian fires emitted carbon equal to Sweden’s total CO2 emissions for the year. Wow pretty amazing facts. Currently in some locations of Siberia the PM2.5 level is in excess of ~1000 micrograms per cubic meter [1]. That's >85x the annual and >28x the 24-hour level (12 and 35 micrograms per cubic meter respectively) standards set by the EPA in 2013 [2]. > PM2.5 (particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter) can penetrate deeply into the lung, irritate and corrode the alveolar wall, and consequently impair lung function [3] I feel sorry for those who can't escape the pollution and disaster. Not sure if it's fair to blame climate change for the recent drought, but maybe. [1] https://www.windy.com/-PM2-5-pm2p5?cams,pm2p5,57.504,123.047,5 https://www.windy.com/-PM2-5-pm2p5?cams,pm2p5,57.504,123.047... [2] https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2013-01-15/pdf/2012-30946.pdf https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2013-01-15/pdf/2012-3... [3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4740125/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4740125/

strogonoff 5y ago
PM1 (1 micrometer and less, not even 2.5) levels reached 2000 in hot spots[0], but thankfully no one lives there. [0] According to https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/bio/surface/level/annot=fires/overlay=pm1/orthographic=-257.35,50.32,521/loc=129.078,62.684 https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/bio/surface/level/anno...
- strogonoff 5y ago
  …and, so, it exceeded those levels in the city in the past couple of days. I’m very upset. From what I know, only a small percentage of people use air purifiers or proper masks there.
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dougmwne 5y ago
What happens in Siberia (and Canada and Alaska) has everything to do with climate change. It will be the most affected region in the world and is already heavily impacted by warming. The Arctic is projected to be sea ice-free in the summer within 15 years, which represents an absolutely enormous change. It will be very fair to pin the coming fires and methane releases on climate change. Geopolitically, Arctic countries are going to receive big benefits on balance from climate change, including new land use options, new oil and gas exploration and new commercial shipping routes. Source: worked on Arctic land and ocean conservation for 3 years.
- beambot 5y ago
  > new oil and gas exploration Ugh... Positive feedback loops.
  - jillesvangurp 5y ago
    Only as long as the stuff is still worth something. Carbon taxes and alternatives could make this a lot less profitable over time. The Russian economy is very sensitive to the price of oil and gas. If demand collapses, prices go down below the point where exploiting these resources is cost effective. The problem is that that is true for everybody else too. That's why prices are high currently because the same is true in Texas where expensive fracking only makes sense as long as prices are very high because fracking is expensive. Which is why everybody else (including Russia that can produce cheaper) is pressured to limit supply. Occasionally, one country (Russia last year) decides to start dumping oil on the market and panic kicks in. It's the one geopolitical tool Russia has left and they wield it well. That's why the baltic gas pipeline is a big deal as well. The Germans built that to not get pressured into buying expensive US liquid gas while they (slowly) untangle their domestic infrastructure from natural gas. However, that's going to take decades but Russia's behavior is bringing a sense of urgency for getting that done. The good news is that high prices make renewables much more attractive and high price volatility makes oil/gas investments a lot more risky and unpredictable. With prices swinging between too high and too low, Investors have been voting with their money for a while now and moving their wealth elsewhere. Russia can't help of being part of the solution here by basically acting against everybody else, they accelerate the demise of oil/gas, cause price instability, and cause their main customers to question the wisdom of their dependence on Russian resources. The last decades of this industry in demise are going to be ugly though.
seanmcdirmid 5y ago
Greater than 1000 PM2.5 is not that uncommon. Every time there is a dust storm in Beijing it would get that high when I was living there. That also includes a lot of PM 10 (the dust is varying size I guess). Right now Ulaanbaatar is at 414, I’m guessing they are effected in Mongolia?
- deleted 5y ago
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strogonoff 5y ago

PM1 (1 micrometer and less, not even 2.5) levels reached 2000 in hot spots[0], but thankfully no one lives there. [0] According to https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/bio/surface/level/annot=fires/overlay=pm1/orthographic=-257.35,50.32,521/loc=129.078,62.684 https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/bio/surface/level/anno...

strogonoff 5y ago
…and, so, it exceeded those levels in the city in the past couple of days. I’m very upset. From what I know, only a small percentage of people use air purifiers or proper masks there.

deleted 5y ago

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dougmwne 5y ago

What happens in Siberia (and Canada and Alaska) has everything to do with climate change. It will be the most affected region in the world and is already heavily impacted by warming. The Arctic is projected to be sea ice-free in the summer within 15 years, which represents an absolutely enormous change. It will be very fair to pin the coming fires and methane releases on climate change. Geopolitically, Arctic countries are going to receive big benefits on balance from climate change, including new land use options, new oil and gas exploration and new commercial shipping routes. Source: worked on Arctic land and ocean conservation for 3 years.

beambot 5y ago
> new oil and gas exploration Ugh... Positive feedback loops.
- jillesvangurp 5y ago
  Only as long as the stuff is still worth something. Carbon taxes and alternatives could make this a lot less profitable over time. The Russian economy is very sensitive to the price of oil and gas. If demand collapses, prices go down below the point where exploiting these resources is cost effective. The problem is that that is true for everybody else too. That's why prices are high currently because the same is true in Texas where expensive fracking only makes sense as long as prices are very high because fracking is expensive. Which is why everybody else (including Russia that can produce cheaper) is pressured to limit supply. Occasionally, one country (Russia last year) decides to start dumping oil on the market and panic kicks in. It's the one geopolitical tool Russia has left and they wield it well. That's why the baltic gas pipeline is a big deal as well. The Germans built that to not get pressured into buying expensive US liquid gas while they (slowly) untangle their domestic infrastructure from natural gas. However, that's going to take decades but Russia's behavior is bringing a sense of urgency for getting that done. The good news is that high prices make renewables much more attractive and high price volatility makes oil/gas investments a lot more risky and unpredictable. With prices swinging between too high and too low, Investors have been voting with their money for a while now and moving their wealth elsewhere. Russia can't help of being part of the solution here by basically acting against everybody else, they accelerate the demise of oil/gas, cause price instability, and cause their main customers to question the wisdom of their dependence on Russian resources. The last decades of this industry in demise are going to be ugly though.

seanmcdirmid 5y ago

Greater than 1000 PM2.5 is not that uncommon. Every time there is a dust storm in Beijing it would get that high when I was living there. That also includes a lot of PM 10 (the dust is varying size I guess). Right now Ulaanbaatar is at 414, I’m guessing they are effected in Mongolia?

deleted 5y ago
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