Satellite imagery gives clear picture of Russia's boreal forest fires

Boreal forest fires in Russia in 1998 may have covered a much larger area than originally reported and may have been mostly crown fires, releasing more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than surface fires. These conclusions are based on analysis of Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data and discussions with Russian fire officials. A more complete analysis of AVHRR data collected since 1980 is underway to determine overall fire patterns in Russia's boreal forests. The year 1998 was an extreme fire year throughout the boreal forest regions of both North America and Eurasia. Over 11 million hectares burned. In Alaska and Canada alone, 4.7 million hectares of boreal forests burned in 1998, according to estimates by national fire monitoring systems in those places.