Siberian wildfire smoke reaches the North Pole reports NASA

The Russian wildfire season is the biggest on record. Photo / NASA, MODIS Supplied

Thick clouds of smoke from Siberian wildfires have reached the North Pole for the first time on record

NASA reported that from space, Russia appeared to be on fire. On Saturday, satellite imagery showed a "vast, thick, and acrid blanket of smoke" which covered the country and was spreading across many of its neighbours.

Most alarming was the 3000km plume which stretched from Yakutia to reach the North Pole.

NASA called it "a feat that appears to be a first in recorded history," via the MODIS Land Rapid Response Team.

NASA reported a 'vast, thick, and acrid blanket' of smoke covered most of Russia. Photo / NASA, MODIS Supplied

Neighbouring Mongolia was also blanketed in smoke from the fires, reported the Chinese news agency Xinhua. NASA reported that bands of smoke had even been reaching over the Arctic, into parts of Nunavut northern Canada and Greenland.

The wildfires are huge, even by recent standards.

Copernicus the EU's own Atmosphere monitoring satellites had estimated this year's wildfire season to be equivalent to 505 megatons of carbon dioxide since June. This is an increase on last year's severe Siberian fires, which were calculated at 450 megatons.

In June, the satellite constellation detected record heat levels for the Russian Arctic Circle.

With a top temperature of 48 Celsius in Verkhoyansk at 67 degrees North on 20 June - this marked a worrying new record within the Arctic Circle.

"The Republic of Sakha, Russia's largest territory, used to be known as the Kingdom of Permafrost," wrote the Siberian Times. Now it is "turning into the Capital of Wildfires"

Two million hectares are claimed by forest fires each year.

Siberian Firefighters bombard the blaze from planes. Photo / Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations

This news came just two days before the United Nation's damning IPCC report on climate change.

The IPCC warned that climate change was nearing "catastrophic levels".

The Russian Arctic was called out in the report as an area expected to see significant increases in hot and cold extremes. The IPCC recognised wildfires and permafrost as driving the likelihood and high emission scenarios.