Environment Fires burning under snow, smoke covering the north, zombie fire era 2019-2025.

Environment Fires burning under snow, smoke covering the north, zombie fire era 2019-2025.

There is no safe zone in the Arctic. Overwintering fires, in which peat smolder underground even below freezing and reignite with spring dryness and wind, spread to the boreal forests of Siberia, Alaska, Canada, and Greenland; the extreme high temperatures and drought of 2019-2021 drew attention to the phenomenon, with high-latitude fire emissions topping satellite records in 2024 and high numbers again in 2025 early in the season. Overwintering fires were observed in many parts of Canada, with smoke reaching thousands of kilometers away. Peat fires destabilize frozen ground and disturb ecosystems through CO2 and methane emissions. The World Meteorological Organization indicates the probability that high temperatures will continue, and warns that dryness and increased lightning strikes will raise fire conditions to the bottom. In addition to thorough treatment of residual fires, management of water retention in peatlands, and increased monitoring and initial response, acceler
ated emission reductions are essential in the long term. Winter is not the end, but the beginning of the next fire season.