Fresh Forest Regrowth May Offset Climate Hit From Australia Fires
- Massive fires released huge amounts of carbon dioxide
- Forest regeneration to create a ‘carbon sink’ over next decade
Bushfires in south eastern Australia in Dec. 2019.
Source: NASA
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The vast swathes of smoke that blanketed Australia during its most devastating bushfire season on record are expected to have a negligible long-term impact on the climate.
Despite the razing of an area the size of England, and the spewing out of more than one-and-a-half times the nation’s annual carbon-dioxide emissions, forest regrowth over the next decade will offset much of the impact from the blazes, Australia’s Department of Industry, Science, Energy & Resources said Tuesday in a report. However, global climate change could affect the recovery process and its impact would be monitored closely.