Recent Active Forest Fires in Boreal Forests and Climate Change

Forest fires in boreal forests are very activated recently. The authors focused on many large forest fires occurred in Alaska and Sakha, East Siberia. The total burnt area of these forest fires of Alaska in 2004 and Sakha in 2002 became historical records. The background of these fires was discussed from the viewpoint of climate change. In 2002, a large number of forest fires occurred near Yakutsk, the eastern part of the Russian Federation. Forest fires started from early May, 2002 and continued until September. In 2004, a large number of forest fires occurred in the interior Alaska. Forest fires started from June, 2004 and also continued even into September. Smoke from these fires not only covered Fairbanks area but also reached east and south coast of main land of the United States of America. The authors approach an investigation of the causes from various angles to establish the causes of the recent abnormal forest fires. Weather conditions such as temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind direction and so on were analyzed by comparing average values. Daily satellite images were processed to show how the forest fires spread in the regions. The results of analysis show how the forest fires near Fairbanks in 2004 and Yakutsk in 2002 were abnormal. The fire phenomenon in boreal forests may be caused by the ongoing global climate change.