As climate change increases the risk of wildfires across the globe, the spate of fires that hit Canada in May and June suggest that 2023 is on course to be the country’s worst fire season to date. These fires not only pose a serious threat to human life, wildlife, the environment and property, they also affect air quality.
Using data from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P mission, the image shows the average concentration of carbon monoxide for 1 May to 13 June. The extremely high concentrations, which are depicted in deep tones of orange, can be linked to active fires during the time. The image also shows how this air pollutant was carried as far as New York in the USA and over the Atlantic.
Fire Hotspots Across Canada
Using data from MODIS to highlight fire hotspots, this animation shows how fire outbreaks increased between from 1 May to 13 June. Above ground biomass data for the 2020 epoch from ESA’s Climate Change Biomass project was used to create the background map. The higher the value, the more material there is to burn.