麻豆影视

Skip to main content

Canada marks highest emissions on record during unprecedented wildfire season

Share

The unprecedented Canadian wildfires burning throughout the country this year, which have drifted smoke across continents, by the end of June, according to a European weather monitoring service.

The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) said this wildfire season in Canada has led to a total of approximately 160 megatonnes of carbon emissions. That鈥檚 the highest level of emissions the weather monitoring service has on record for Canada in its data collection, called the Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS) dataset, which covers 2003 to present.

are the gases released into the atmosphere, which lead to air pollution. 

鈥淥ur monitoring of the scale and persistence of the wildfire emissions across Canada since early May has shown how unusual it has been when compared to the two decades of our dataset,鈥 said CAMS Senior Scientist, Mark Parrington, in a press release. 

鈥淭he long-range transport of smoke that we are currently monitoring is not unusual, and not expected to have any significant impact on surface air quality in Europe, but it is a clear reflection of the intensity of the fires that such high values of aerosol optical depth and other pollutants associated with the plume are so high as it reaches this side of the Atlantic.鈥

An increase in the intensity of wildfires was sparked near the end of June in eastern Canada, leading to strong smokes moving across the North Atlantic and into Europe.

Between June 26 and 29, the smoke contained high values of aerosol optical depth and carbon monoxide, according to CAMS. The organization defines aerosol optical depth as a measure of the extinction effect of atmospheric aerosols 鈥 vital materials in the atmosphere 鈥 that is meant to assess the degree of air pollution. 

The Canadian smoke spreading to Europe is not expected to have a significant impact on surface air quality, the CAMS notes.

The organization said it鈥檚 closely monitoring the particulate matter concentrations,  that can cause health risks when air quality is poor, which could add to local sources of air pollution in the EU.

By mid-July, the raging wildfires had burned a record-breaking 10 million hectares of land across the country, according to data from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC).

As of Wednesday, the area burned had reached 12.1 million hectares of land. There were also 1,060 active fires.

Canada鈥檚 wildfire season started early this year due to the dry and hot weather conditions observed from coast to coast. There have been , spanning from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories to Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.

Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

A body has been found in the vicinity where a woman went missing on the Ottawa River near Pembroke, Ont. while kayaking Tuesday night, according to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

Local Spotlight

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.