2023-05-17 09:02:50
The Canadian fires had burned, as of May 16, 20223, 10 times the average area burned for this time of year.
The image above, from the GOES-18 geostationary satellite, shows fumes from the fires that swept through southern Canada, as well as North Dakota, Minnesota, and several other states on May 15, 2023. GOES-18 is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); NASA helps develop and launch the GOES series of satellites.
Out of control fires: effects
As of May 16, there were 87 wildfires in Alberta, a quarter of which were classified as out of controlwhich means that the fires were expected to increase in size. Most of the 478,000 hectares burned have been in Albertaaccording to the Canadian Forest Fire Information System, but several fires were classified as out of control that day in British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
Western Canada is burning. Again. pic.twitter.com/pa2V07LXla
— Nahel Belgherze (@WxNB_) May 16, 2023
Smoke from the fires has caused poor air quality and reduced visibility in several cities. Wildfire smoke contains minute particles called aerosols, some of which can degrade air quality and exacerbate respiratory and cardiovascular health problems. Air quality conditions on May 16 in some Alberta cities were classified as “very high risk”, the highest ranking in Canada’s Air Quality and Health Index.
Poor air quality is spreading south behind the cold front across Alberta’s major cities this morning.
Monitor in real-time here: pic.twitter.com/pO9s2jv8Db
— Kyle Brittain (@KyleBrittainWX) May 16, 2023
misty skies They were also observed by a global network of ground sensors called Aerosols Robotic Network or AERONET, which is made up of more than 500 sun photometer instruments carefully calibrated instruments that measure aerosol optical depth (AOD) around the world. The instruments point at the Sun and record the intensity of the incoming light. Scientists use this information to infer the amount and size of aerosols in the atmospheric column by calculating the difference between the light received and what would be expected under cloudless conditions.
The heavy #smoke draped across Minnesota and North Dakota will continue to slip south and will likely affect northern Nebraska and Iowa this evening.
From western Canada, it should remain elevated – colored sky, little smell. pic.twitter.com/9ZlNT5ozjR
— NWS Omaha (@NWSOMaha) May 16, 2023
“A perfectly clear blue sky would produce a very low AOD value, less than 0.05, at visible wavelengths.“, said Pawan Gupta, atmospheric scientist and co-director of AERONET at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “An AOD reading of 3 would make it difficult to even see the Sun“.
Fumes flood other areas of North America
The wind brought smoke from the fires to Maryland on May 10, making the Sun appear milky in the sky. The AERONET instrument at NASA Goddard in Greenbelt, Maryland, had an average AOD value of regarding 1 at visible wavelengths that day. On May 16, smoke contributed to cloudy skies and dangerous air quality in North Dakota and northern Minnesota. An AERONET sensor at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks measured an average AOD of 2.3 on May 16, with maximum values near 3.
Unusually warm weather is expected to continue for the next several days in western Canada. In British Columbia, temperatures are expected to hit 30 degrees Celsius through May 18, according to Environment Canada.
Picture of NASA Earth Observatory by Lauren Dauphin, using GOES 18 images courtesy of NOAA and the National Environmental Data, Information and Satellite Service (NESDIS). Text by Emily Cassidy.
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The fumes and aerosols from the burning of biomass jump into the Atlantic and might reach the vicinity of Spain, according to Copernicus predictions.
Long-range transport of smoke from #AlbertaWildfires across the N America/Atlantic, & more #SaharanDust over the Mediterranean, with high aerosol optical depth values in the @CopernicusECMWF Atmosphere Monitoring Service @ECMWF forecast from 16 May 00 UTC pic.twitter.com/AVS7CcEjqI
— Mark Parrington (@m_parrington) May 16, 2023
NASA Earth Observatory
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#smoke #forest #fires #Canada #reach #Spain