Spatiotemporal Analysis of Multi-Year Wildfires and Emissions of Trace Gases and Aerosols in Russia Based on Satellite Data

An analysis is performed of the annual and intraseasonal dynamics of wildfire areas and volumes of trace gas components (CO, CO2, CH4, NO, and NO2) and fine aerosols (PM2.5) caused by wildfires in Russia and its large regions over 19 years. The analysis is based on results from satellite monitoring, allowing for the effect anomalies in weather and climate have on the intensity of fires. It is shown that the average size of areas burned monthly in the European part of Russia fell by half in April, May, and September, and by a factor of four in July and August over the period 2011 to 2019, compared to the respective months in 2001–2010. A negative trend is observed for spring and autumn from 2010 to 2019 in the Siberian and Ural federal districts, along with a summer increase in fire areas. It is found that over 19 years, the dynamics of the burned areas is weakly defined for most months of the fire season in the Far Eastern Federal District. Extremely high volumes of emissions of different trace gases (including CO and CO2) and aerosols caused by wildfires were detected in the Siberian Federal District in 2003 and 2012.