5 days ago
Smoke from Canadian forest fires reaches Europe
Smoke from large wildfires in Canada has crossed the Atlantic and reached Europe, scientists announced on Tuesday.
More smoke clouds will hit the continent in the coming days, according to the EU Earth observation programme Copernicus.
This could lead to hazy days and red-orange sunsets. However, no major impact on air quality at ground level is expected, as most of the smoke is being carried in higher layers of the atmosphere.
According to the report, a first cloud of smoke crossed the Mediterranean region on May 18 and 19, while a second, much larger cloud reached north-western Europe in the last week of May.
Copernicus bases its findings on data from its atmospheric monitoring service CAMS. According to its report, there have been significant emissions from forest fires in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario in recent weeks.
Canada's national forest fire report says there were well over a hundred fires at times. Exceptional dryness and strong winds had contributed to the development and spread of the fires. Thousands of people were brought to safety as a precaution.
Copernicus has also monitored large forest fires that have been raging in south-eastern Russia since April, mainly in the Republic of Buryatia and the Transbaikal region east of Lake Baikal.
CAMS analyses from mid-May showed that large smoke clouds were moving from the Transbaikal region towards China and northern Japan. Others reached the high Arctic.
Copernicus says these so-called pyrocumulonimbus clouds (PyroCb) form when a forest fire burns with exceptional heat and intensity, generating enough thermal energy to propel smoke, ash and moisture high into the atmosphere, from where powerful jet streams can transport the smoke over long distances.
