There have been some positive reports on how the Covid-19 outbreak has had some positive effects on the environment, and so presumably on anthropogenic climate change – although probably immeasurably small – but it’s not all silver linings.
Siberia also is among the areas of the world showing the greatest temperature spikes attributed to climate change. This year, the average temperatures since January are running at least 5.4 degrees (3 Celsius) above the long-term average, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last month, Russian Natural Resources Minister Dmitry Kobylkin said “this year’s summer [in Russia] may be one of the abnormally hottest in history, or if not the most abnormally” hot.
Warming trends in Siberia are melting permafrost, which releases vast amounts of planet-warming greenhouse gases. The massive blazes in the summer also potentially accelerate global warming. [WaPo]
It’s not unusual to have fires in Siberia in spring and summer, but it appears the magnitude is growing – and reinforcing the problematic gases. So how does this connect to Covid-19?
“It might be one of the indirect effects of coronavirus,” [volunteer firefighter Andrey] Borodin said. “Because people are in self-isolation and don’t go to work, they have more time to go out, especially people in the villages near forests and fields. And they can cause fires — maybe with a barbecue or something else.”
Many Russians flocked to their country homes, or dachas, during a six-week national “nonworking” period intended to stunt the coronavirus’s spread.
Another ripple effect of the pandemic: Borodin said volunteer firefighters who would typically go out in groups of seven or eight have been told to work in pairs or trios to follow social distancing guidelines.
Presumably, this is less efficient.
