() — Canada officially registered the worst wildfire season of his story. Smoke from the flames crossed the Atlantic Ocean and reached western Europe on Monday.
Canada had a dramatic start to the wildfire season, with at least 7,563,044 hectares charred across the country. Wildfire activity in Canada typically peaks from June to August, so there is still more than half of the peak season to go.
As a result of this unprecedented start to the fire season, this year has become the worst fire season on record, surpassing the previous mark set in 1995 for total area burned. In 1995, at least 7,105,997 hectares burned in the country, according to fire statistics of the Canadian Interagency Wildland Fire Center.
According to the UK Met Office, smoke from the bushfires, which engulfed New York City in a cloud of smog earlier this month, has already reached the UK.
The smoke that has reached Europe did so through the jet stream, strong winds in the upper levels of the atmosphere. This means that the smoke will not drastically worsen surface air quality, as it did in the Northeast US a few weeks ago.
“Although the smoke is high in the atmosphere, it is possible that it will cause some vivid sunrises and sunsets in the coming days,” wrote on Twitter The Met Office, the UK’s national weather service.
Forecast models indicate that smoke will remain in the upper levels of the atmosphere over Europe for much of this week.
previously reported that smoke from the wildfires reached Norway in early June. Because smoke is injected at high altitudes, it can stay in the atmosphere longer and travel longer distances.
Fires continue to ravage Canada
Wildfires have continued to burn across multiple provinces across Canada. This Sunday there were at least 53 new forest fires, according to the National Report on the Fire Situation of the Canadian Interagency Center against Forest Fires.
Alberta was the province with the most fires, 23, followed by Ontario and Quebec, with eight each, according to the report.
This Monday, the agency reported of at least 27 new wildfires, 16 of them in British Columbia.
The record wildfire season continues to affect air quality in parts of North America. On Friday, Environment Canada warned in a bulletin that the smoke would continue to cause poor air quality in many parts of the country. In Canada’s capital Ottawa, government air quality readings peaked at 10 on Sunday, posing “high risk,” before moderating Monday morning.
In addition to sending smoke across western Europe, the fires have also caused plumes of smoke in parts of the United States. Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana issued air quality watches Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
As the climate crisis deepens, scientists expect wildfire seasons to increase in severity, especially as droughts and heat become more common and severe around the world.
— ‘s Paula Newton contributed to this report.
