- Record-Breaking Wildfires in Canada Emit Double Previous Smoke Levels
- Vast Areas Devastated, Carbon Emissions Surpassing Prior Records
- Climate Change Fuels Canada’s Intense Wildfires, Impacting Millions
Massive wildfires in Canada have already emitted twice as much smoke as the previous annual record, the EU’s climate monitor reported on Thursday, and the blazes are anticipated to continue ravaging forests for weeks or months.
Wildfires have destroyed 30 million acres this year, more than Cuba or South Korea.
Massive smoke columns have suffocated the air in Canada and the neighboring United States, affecting more than 100 million people and sometimes forcing the cancellation of flights and outdoor events.
The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) of Europe reported that it had been monitoring the fires since the season began in May, as the blazes devastated vast areas of the country.
As of July, cumulative carbon emissions for the year had surpassed 2014’s record annual particle pollution.
Mark Parrington, a CAMS senior scientist, stated that the fire emissions had “increased almost continuously to a level that is already significantly higher than the previous annual total fire emissions for Canada in our dataset.”
Fire emissions from boreal regions peak between July and August. We will continue to monitor the situation for a few more weeks.
Northern Hemisphere wildfires peak in July and August, the warmest and driest months, from May through October.
This year has seen pervasive, record-setting fires in Canada and Russia, as well as large fires in both countries.
CAMS said that wildfires have expanded north, including into the Arctic Circle, causing “significant smoke emissions.”
Current Canadian wildfire carbon emissions are approximately 290 megatons, compared to the previous record of 138 megatons set in 2014, according to CAMS, whose records date back to 2003.
Canada is among the world’s regions that are warming the quickest, and climate change has increased both the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events that the country experiences.
