- Sputnik International, 1920
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Smoke From Canadian Wildfires Reach European Skies

© NASA / LAuren DauphinSmoke from Canadian Wildfires Reach Europe, June 26, 2023
Smoke from Canadian Wildfires Reach Europe, June 26, 2023 - Sputnik International, 1920, 27.06.2023
Subscribe
Wildfires in Canada have been raging for multiple weeks and prompted a series of evacuations and aid from international partners. Local authorities have indicated the latest number of active wildfires sits at nearly 500, many of them yet under control.
Smoke from the Canadian wildfires is starting to affect Western Europe, weeks after apocalyptic images of smoke-filled skies in New York and Washington, DC, went viral online.
Officials in Portugal forecasted skies “obscured by smoke particles” on Tuesday and Spain, France and other Western European countries were also affected.
The plume of smoke and soot from the wildfires currently stretches for thousands of miles, from Quebec and across the Atlantic Ocean, satellite images show. On Sunday, it reached the Azores Islands. By Monday, its outer edge was hovering above Western Europe.
The smoke in Europe is not currently a health hazard as it has been in Canada and the United States, as the smoke is much higher in the air over Europe, sitting at at least 3,600 feet above the surface. Experts have noted it may create especially vivid sunrises and sunsets over the coming days.
A Southwest airliner approaches LaGuardia Airport in New York, Wednesday, June 7, 2023. - Sputnik International, 1920, 07.06.2023
Americas
Severe Smoke From Canadian Wildfires Prompt Hundreds of US Flight Delays
French media is reporting the country should see the peak of ash and soot in the air on Wednesday. While the smoke is currently just a visual oddity for Western Europe, back in North America, the wildfires and the accompanying smoke remain an issue.
There are 172 communities in Canada currently under air quality alerts. Additionally, the US midwest is also suffering from poor air quality.
© NASA / Lauren DauphinSmoke from Canadian Wildfires Reach Europe, June 26, 2023, thermal
Smoke from Canadian Wildfires Reach Europe, June 26, 2023, thermal - Sputnik International, 1920, 27.06.2023
Smoke from Canadian Wildfires Reach Europe, June 26, 2023, thermal

At present, there are 487 active wildfires in Canada, with 257 of them burning out of control.

According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, 7.8 million hectares (19.3 million acres) of wildland area has already been ravaged by Canadian wildfires. The recorded figure makes it the worst wildfire season since the agency began tracking the number in 1980.

More than half of the wildfire season in Canada remains, which typically runs from June to August.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала