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Smoke from Canadian fires reaches Europe

6/14/25

Smoke from hundreds of forest fires in several Canadian provinces has been gradually reaching Europe across the ocean since late May. There is so much smoke in the atmosphere that it even turned the moon orange for several days. With the fires continuing, it is likely that smoke will continue to reach Europe throughout June.

Photo:Depositphotos

The boreal summer period is typical for Canada with many forest fires. Which cover a huge area. The smoke content and subsequent transport in the atmosphere are regularly monitored by the Copernicus atmosphere monitoring service. The smoke began to reach Europe at the end of May and, with the increasing number of fires, this situation has continued to this day. The smoke comes from forest fires in the provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and, most recently, British Columbia.

Canada experienced a significant increase in the number and intensity of wildfires during May. Smoke from the fires negatively affected the air in the given locations. Other clouds gradually traveled to Europe thanks to air currents. The first cloud of smoke crossed the Atlantic in the third week of May and reached the Mediterranean and Greece. Another cloud entered Europe in late May and early June and reached the northwestern part of Europe.

Based on CAMS predictions, smoke transport is not expected to have a significant impact on air quality at the ground level, as such episodes typically occur at higher altitudes. Typical effects of smoke in the atmosphere include hazier skies with red or orange sunsets.

In addition, large-scale forest fires have been burning in Russia's Far Eastern Federal District since early April. The largest are in the Buryat and Zabaykalsky Krai regions east of Lake Baikal. Carbon emissions there have reached their highest levels for the period since 2018. CAMS forecasts from mid-May showed that large plumes of smoke are being transported from Zabaykalsky Krai towards northeastern China and northern Japan.

Source:Copernicus