The first plume hit the Mediterranean on May 18, with a larger plume reaching Europe on June 1 and is expected to hit Europe this week, the Copernicus Aquatic Monitoring Service (CAMS) reported on Tuesday.
Large, out-of-control fires continue from BC to Ontario, forcing More than 17,000 people flee from Manitoba’s housesand thousands of other provinces, including Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Mark Parrington, a senior scientist on the camera, said the long-distance movement of the smoke plume “reflects the scale of fires and impacts they suffered in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.”
While smoke is expected to cause hazy European skies and red-orange sunsets, it is not expected to have a significant impact on surface air quality there as the smoke is higher than the ground.
In addition to heading east to Europe, the smoke from wildfires also blows to the southeast. A part of Canada enters the Upper West region of the United States. , causing “hazardous” air quality in some areas.
This year's wildfires have burned 2.1 million hectares. According to Canadian Field Fire Information System. Due to hot, dry and windy conditions, fire hazards are extreme in many areas where wildfires are violent Weather conditions are more likely and intense due to human-induced climate change.
It is still May, and the wildfire season on the prairie has begun a dangerous and rapid development. Meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe explains how extreme heat and gusts of wind have caused the perfect storm for fire growth – no rainfall is seen.
The fire itself also generates a lot of climate warm emissions: CAM estimates that Canadian wildfires have released 56 megatanes of carbon by June 2 so far this year. It was the second highest at this time of the year, after only 2023, a record-breaking year for wildfires.
