Wildfire in Canada. Credit: X @pixelsandcocoa
Thick smoke from wildfires in central Canada has drifted across the Atlantic, reaching Ireland and other parts of northwestern Europe on Sunday, June 1, according to EU climate monitors.
Although high in the atmosphere, the smoke is expected to create hazy skies and red-tinted sunsets in the coming days – pretty, but potentially toxic?
Canadian wildfire smoke crosses Atlantic to Europe
Smoke from wildfires in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan has now reached Ireland and is expected to spread across more of Europe this week, EU scientists confirmed.
The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), part of the EU’s climate programme, has been tracking the transatlantic movement of smoke via satellite since mid-May.
“A second, much larger, smoke plume crossed the Atlantic during the last week of May, reaching northwestern parts of Europe on 1 June,” CAMS said in a statement, cited by RTÉ.
Hazy skies, but no major health risk
According to CAMS, the smoke is travelling at very high altitudes and is not expected to significantly impact surface air quality.
That means no serious health concerns for now – although residents across Europe could notice changes in the sky.
“The effects include hazy skies and red or orange sunsets,” CAMS senior scientist Mark Parrington said.
However, Copernicus warned of a high concentration of carbon monoxide over parts of northwestern France, including the Paris Basin, this week.
Wildfire season in Canada and Russia intensifies
The fires in Manitoba and Saskatchewan have already forced more than 25,000 evacuations, with both provinces declaring states of emergency until the end of June.
“Central regions of Canada have experienced a very intense few weeks in terms of wildfire emissions,” Parrington added.
Officials in Canada are warning that the fire season could worsen over the summer, especially in areas suffering from severe drought.
And it’s not just Canada. Wildfires are also raging across Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District, especially in Zabaykalsky Krai and Buryatia near the Chinese and Mongolian borders.
According to CAMS, carbon emissions from Russia’s wildfires have reached the highest levels since 2018. Smoke from these blazes has drifted into northeastern China, northern Japan, and even the Arctic, as reported by Irish Independent.
Should Europeans be concerned about smoke from the wildfires?
While experts currently say the smoke is not an immediate health threat in Europe, the growing scale of wildfires and their ability to affect air quality thousands of kilometres away raises wider environmental questions.
View all news from Ireland.
