Canada is experiencing one of its most destructive wildfire seasons to date, with millions of acres burned, tens of thousands temporarily evacuated, and air quality reduced for residents near and far so far this year. 

The resulting black carbon pollution may also have devastating consequences for the Arctic — and eventually everywhere with the potential to be impacted by the region's melting ice. 

What's happening?

According to early-July reporting from the Economic Times, wildfires in Canada have been releasing plumes of black carbon. This soot-like planet-heating substance is generated by the incomplete burning of fossil fuels and can be even more destructive than typical carbon dioxide. In the Arctic, this pollution can speed up the melting of glaciers and ice sheets. 

"When soot from wildfires lands on ice, it turbocharges melting," Jennifer Francis of the Woodwell Climate Research Center told the outlet. "This creates a feedback loop: less ice means more warming, which means more fires and more soot."

Why is black carbon in the Arctic concerning?

Already the region is warming nearly four times faster than the rest of the world. And black carbon's potency is particularly alarming: One metric ton has the "global warming effect equivalent" of 900 metric tons of regular carbon dioxide, Euronews has noted.

Thawing ice in the Arctic has the potential to release infectious microbes that have been frozen for thousands of years, inciting unprecedented disease outbreaks in communities that receive the runoff. 

This possible consequence comes in addition to the rising sea levels caused by melting ice, which put coastal communities at risk of floods while intensifying the effects of extreme weather overall. Though individual hurricanes and storm surges are typical of life on Earth, the increased moisture and warmer climate can supercharge their destructive potential.

What's being done about it?

While some scientists consider methods of directly restoring Arctic ice, addressing the overheating of the planet as a whole is most immediately crucial in mitigating further glacier loss. 

Carbon-zero initiatives and pro-climate policies around the world can help to sustain organized support and finances to address the problem in meaningful ways, including countering the conditions that can exacerbate wildfires and other sources of black carbon.

Funding research and implementation, for example, for better and more affordable clean energy alternatives to fossil fuels, can help individuals and municipalities tackle planet-warming pollution locally. 

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Using an electric vehicle or public transit can reduce the heat-trapping gases in our atmosphere. 

And installing solar panels in conjunction with battery systems can keep homes and businesses running sustainably and effectively at low costs while ensuring access to essential electricity during the grid outages that can be caused by supercharged storms and flooding.

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