Latest news with #Parrington
Irish Post
3 days ago
- Climate
- Irish Post
Canadian wildfire smoke seen in Ireland and across Northern Europe
SMOKE from wildfires burning in central Canada has drifted thousands of miles across the Atlantic, arriving in Ireland and other parts of northwestern Europe, according to European climate researchers. The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), an environmental agency under the European Union's Earth observation programme, has been tracking the movement of wildfire smoke since the start of May. Using satellite data, CAMS confirmed that a large plume originating from the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario reached Ireland on Sunday, June 1. Additional plumes are expected to spread further into Europe later this week. 'Wildfires are a frequent occurrence in boreal forests from spring through summer,' said Mark Parrington, a senior scientist at CAMS. 'But the intensity of fires we've seen in Canada this year, particularly in central regions, is extraordinary.' CAMS analysis shows that while the smoke has visibly affected the sky, producing hazy skies and vibrant sunsets, the smoke is travelling at high altitudes, meaning they won't have a major effect on air quality in Europe. However, elsewhere the fires have already caused a lot of damage. More than 25,000 people in Canada have been forced to evacuate, prompting officials in both Saskatchewan and Manitoba to declare month-long states of emergency. U.S. states near the Canadian border have also experienced low air quality as the smoke drifts south. The fires are part of what experts warn could become an intense wildfire season in Canada, exacerbated by ongoing drought, that's also affecting northern Europe. Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service has facilities across all of Europe (Photo by CAMS) Similar wildfires are happening across Russia's Far Eastern Federal District, in the regions of Buryatia and Zabaykalsky Krai near the borders with China and Mongolia. According to CAMS, carbon emissions from fires in that area have reached their highest levels for this time of year since 2018. Smoke from those Russian blazes has been detected as far away as northeastern China, northern Japan and even the Arctic. While current forecasts suggest only minor health risks from the smoke in Europe, Parrington claimed that the increasing reach of these wildfires add to growing concerns about the long-term effects of climate change and global air quality. Going into further detail Parrington said, "The fact that we can notice the impacts of the smoke in European skies is a reflection of the devastation of wildfires which have been burning in Canada, indicating the increased number of fires, intensity, and duration. A lot of smoke has to be generated in order for it to travel so far and be noticeable and shows how people on either side of the Atlantic are connected via the atmosphere." As we come up to the drier summer months, monitoring agencies like CAMS will continue to track these plumes across Ireland and northern Europe. See More: CAMS, Canada, Mark Parrington, Wilfire
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Canadian wildfire smoke reaches Europe after near 7,000-km journey
While Canadian fire crews across several provinces continue to battle blazes that have prompted states of emergency and forced people from their homes, smoke from the wildfires have been travelling a fair distance over the past few weeks, especially in recent days. Over the past few days, smoke has travelled nearly 7,000 kilometres––more than half of the globe in distance. And that won't be the end of it, either, as additional smoke is expected to reach Europe in the coming days as strong winds force the plume farther east into the continent. DON'T MISS: According to the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), the first high-altitude smoke plume entered the Mediterranean region on May 18-19, with reports of it reaching Greece and the eastern Mediterranean. Following that, a much larger quantity of wildfire smoke plume travelled across the Atlantic during the last week of May, hitting northwestern parts of Europe on Sunday, June 1. This #TimelapseTuesday, we're taking a look at this imagery from @NOAA's #GOESEast 🛰️ as thick #smoke from Canadian #wildfires has been drifting across the eastern U.S. from May 31 to June 2, 2025. #AirQuality Alerts cover much of the Upper Midwest today. Latest:… — NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) June 3, 2025 The issue of wildfire smoke will remain a problem for Eastern Canada, as well, with recent, explosive fire behaviour in Saskatchewan and Manitoba and strong winds expected to push more of it eastward, eventually hitting Europe in the next week or so. Major wildfires continue throughout portions of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and northern British Columbia. Provincial states of emergency have been issued for Manitoba and Saskatchewan, where multiple communities remain under evacuation orders. Mark Parrington, senior scientist with CAMS, said wildfires are a frequent occurrence in boreal forests from spring and through the summer months. June 1-3, 2025 satellite imagery. (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT)) Up to the start of June, CAMS' data showed that parts of Canada have experienced a "very intense few weeks" in terms of wildfire emissions. "This data, and the fact that we are able to observe the smoke in Europe, is a reflection of the scale of the fires and impacts they have been having in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. In CAMS, we monitor events such as these in order to understand how they affect the atmosphere and air quality regionally and globally," said Parrington, in a news release. The good news is that the air quality in Europe isn't expected to be affected, unlike parts of Canada where alerts are in place to advise of health risks, since it will remain well above the surface. But folks can expect hazy skies alongside red sunrises and sunsets. Click here to view the video With files from Rachel Modestino, a meteorologist at The Weather Network. Header image courtesy of NOAA
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Canadian wildfire smoke reaches Europe after near 7,000-km journey
While Canadian fire crews across several provinces continue to battle blazes that have prompted states of emergency and forced people from their homes, smoke from the wildfires have been travelling a fair distance over the past few weeks, especially in recent days. Over the past few days, smoke has travelled nearly 7,000 kilometres––more than half of the globe in distance. And that won't be the end of it, either, as additional smoke is expected to reach Europe in the coming days as strong winds force the plume farther east into the continent. DON'T MISS: According to the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), the first high-altitude smoke plume entered the Mediterranean region on May 18-19, with reports of it reaching Greece and the eastern Mediterranean. Following that, a much larger quantity of wildfire smoke plume travelled across the Atlantic during the last week of May, hitting northwestern parts of Europe on Sunday, June 1. The issue of wildfire smoke will remain a problem for Eastern Canada, as well, with recent, explosive fire behaviour in Saskatchewan and Manitoba and strong winds expected to push more of it eastward, eventually hitting Europe in the next week or so. Major wildfires continue throughout portions of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and northern British Columbia. Provincial states of emergency have been issued for Manitoba and Saskatchewan, where multiple communities remain under evacuation orders. Mark Parrington, senior scientist of with CAMS, said wildfires are a frequent occurrence in boreal forests from spring and through the summer months. June 1-3, 2025 satellite imagery. (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT)) Up to the start of June, CAMS' data showed that parts of Canada have experienced a "very intense few weeks" in terms of wildfire emissions. "This data, and the fact that we are able to observe the smoke in Europe, is a reflection of the scale of the fires and impacts they have been having in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. In CAMS, we monitor events such as these in order to understand how they affect the atmosphere and air quality regionally and globally," said Parrington, in a news release. The good news is that the air quality in Europe isn't expected to be affected, unlike parts of Canada where alerts are in place to advise of health risks, since it will remain well above the surface. But folks can expect hazy skies alongside red sunrises and sunsets. Click here to view the video With files from Rachel Modestino, a meteorologist at The Weather Network.
