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Canadian Wildfire Smoke Impacts Air Quality in the Midwest and Northeast

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Smoke from Canadian wildfires is prompting air quality warnings across the Midwest and Northeastern US this Thursday as forests in North Korea continue to burn at a historic rate reminiscent of the extreme fire season of 2023.

Air pollution levels have surged in cities including Minneapolis, Green Bay, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Washington, Philadelphia, and New York due to smoke and ozone from the heat.

According to Canada’s Interagency Forest Fire Centre, the ongoing fire season in Canada has already resulted in the burning of around 8.6 million acres. With three months left in the season, this figure has exceeded the seasonal average since 1983, which stands at approximately 6.5 million acres.

The current burning rates in Canada are mirroring those from 2023, known as the year with the highest smoke exposure in modern American history, raising concerns that the current season may reflect that intensity.

“We’re facing significant challenges with our response,” stated Robert Gray, a wildfire ecologist in Chilliwack, British Columbia. “Most forecasts for Canada indicate above-average temperatures, while precipitation levels remain below normal.”

In past years, nearly 43 million acres burned in Canada by the end of the fire season.

Gray noted that much of the smoke this year originates from the densely packed boreal forests found in northern British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. Wildfires typically occur in these regions during May and June, coinciding with longer days and rising temperatures. The subsequent developments depend heavily on weather conditions.

“It could be a brief two-week event. The huy starts burning, aspen gets involved, and then weather changes,” Gray explained, alluding to the common aspen trees in these forests. “If aspen and rain don’t clear out, the fires may persist.”

According to the BC Wildfire Service, parts of northern British Columbia have been experiencing drought conditions since 2022. Some forecasts predict an “increased likelihood of significant and challenging fires.”

Gray mentioned that drought, low snowfall during winter, and heightened “overwinter” fires are factors contributing to increasingly busy fire seasons.

These overwintering fires continue smoldering beneath forest debris and peat, reigniting in spring.

“There was a fire that started in 2023, lingering through winter into 2024,” Gray remarked. “Some of the same fires have reemerged this year.”

As northern British Columbia faces these wildfires, smoke is often transported to the US by the jetstream, a high-altitude air current that influences pressure and weather changes in the Northern Hemisphere.

“It’s a consistent pattern that remains stable. As long as central and northern BC are burning, this pattern channels smoke into the central and northeastern US,” Gray stated.

Sometimes the smoke stays aloft, creating hazy skies without significant ground-level air quality deterioration. However, it can pose a risk to health.

Wildfire smoke is increasingly hazardous across the US, reversing decades of improvements in air quality achieved under the Clean Air Act.

Inhaling wildfire smoke can cause inflammation, particularly as particles enter the lungs and bloodstream, compromising the immune system. This exposure can elevate the risks of asthma, lung cancer, and other chronic respiratory diseases, especially in vulnerable populations such as the elderly, pregnant individuals, infants, and children. Additionally, wildfire smoke is linked to respiratory illnesses, premature births, and miscarriages.

Evan Bush

Evan Bush is a science reporter for NBC News.

Kathryn Prosive I contributed.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Climate Change: A Major Concern Falling Off the Agenda in Canadian Elections

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Melting Arctic ice. Record-breaking wildfires across multiple states. Countries experiencing average warming are warming at a twice the rate of other regions worldwide.

Yet, when Canadians head to the polls on Monday, climate change isn’t even among the top ten issues for voters. Recent surveys indicate this shift.

“That’s not the focus of this election,” remarked Jessica Green, a political scientist at the University of Toronto specializing in climate-related topics.

The election revolves around a collective desire to choose a leader capable of standing up to Donald J. Trump, who poses a threat to Canada amidst a trade war, if not a full annexation as the “51st state.”

Leading the polls is liberal Mark Carney, who boasts decades of experience in climate policy. He served for five years as a UN envoy on climate action and finance, orchestrating a coalition of banks committed to halting carbon dioxide emissions through financing practices by 2050.

Despite his impressive background, Carney hasn’t prioritized climate change in his campaign. Following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation, one of Carney’s initial actions was to eliminate fuel taxes based on emission levels, including gasoline taxes.

While many Canadians have redirected the resulting funds into rebate checks, Mr. Carney appears to misunderstand the policy, labeling it as “too divided.”

This decision, coupled with similarities between his Conservative opponents, Pierre Poilievre and Trump, has contributed to Carney’s rise in the polls.

“Carney made a clever move by abolishing the consumer carbon tax, which was widely unpopular and essentially formed the basis of Poilievre’s campaign against him,” said Dr. Green. “It took the wind out of the Conservative Party’s sails.”

Mr. Carney is acutely aware of political dynamics. In a recent television discussion, he mentioned to Poilievre, “I spent years advocating for Justin Trudeau and the carbon tax.”

Poilievre is a staunch supporter of Canada’s vast oil and gas industry, making Canada the fourth-largest oil producer and the fifth-largest gas producer globally. Yet, unlike Trump, he recognizes the necessity of reducing greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change.

“Canadian oil and clean natural gas must replace coal globally, allowing countries like India and others in Asia to utilize gas instead of dirty coal,” he stated at a recent press conference during his campaign.

However, Carney’s proposals don’t significantly differ. He envisions Canada as a “superpower of both traditional and clean energy.” His platform suggests reforms like bolstering the carbon market and expediting approvals for clean energy initiatives.

Perhaps the most significant distinction between the candidates lies in their views on Canada’s oil and gas emission caps and the tax on industrial emissions, both defended by Trudeau.

Poilievre aims to eliminate these in accordance with industry demands, whereas Carney intends to maintain them. The Canadian Climate Research Institute states that the Industrial Carbon Tax reduces emissions by at least three times more than the consumer tax, making it the most effective policy deployed to decrease emissions leading up to 2030.

Canada ranks among the world’s highest per capita greenhouse gas emitters and is not on track to meet its commitments under the 2015 Paris Agreement. By 2030, the aim is to achieve a minimum of 40-45% reductions from 2005 levels, but the latest national emissions Inventory Report indicates just an 8.5% decrease through 2023.

Source: www.nytimes.com

Canadian wildfires released more carbon emissions in the past year than many countries

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Canada’s historic wildfire season last year resulted in the burning of numerous trees, causing forests to emit more carbon than the fossil fuel emissions of most countries in 2022, as per a study released on Wednesday.

According to Brendan Byrne, a carbon cycle scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the lead author of the study, “Only China, the United States, and India emit more carbon dioxide annually than these fires. Emissions from these fires are unprecedented in Canada’s history.”

Byrne’s research, published in Nature magazine, estimates that the emissions from the fires (approximately 647 megatons of carbon) are over four times the annual emissions from Canada’s fossil fuel burning. The study predicts that by 2023, about 4% of Canada’s forests will have burned.

While Canada’s forests typically absorb more carbon than they emit, the latest findings suggest a concerning trend where these carbon sinks may be exacerbating emissions. This raises concerns about the reliability of carbon sinks in the future as wildfire patterns evolve.

Byrne stated, “The year 2023 was truly exceptional due to heat, drought, and fire emissions. With summer temperatures projected to normalize in Canadian forests around the 2050s, we might see a rise in the frequency of fires, impacting the carbon storage capacity of forests significantly.”

In 2023, 232,000 individuals were evacuated due to the smoke from the wildfires in Canada, leading to the worst smoke season in modern U.S. history, with cities like New York facing air pollution concerns.

A subway station in the Bronx, New York City, on June 7, 2023.
David Dee Delgado/Getty Images file.

To calculate the total carbon emissions from the wildfire season, researchers used satellite data to determine how much atmospheric carbon was absorbed by light. They also noted that Canada experienced exceptional drought and its hottest summer since at least 1980, conditions expected to become more frequent in the future.

Approximately half of the carbon released by human activities remains in the atmosphere, a quarter is absorbed by oceans, and the remaining quarter by terrestrial ecosystems like trees and plants on Earth.

Byrne emphasized, “Changes in the frequency and severity of fires could impact this absorption process. This has significant implications for global carbon emissions.”

Canada’s forested regions account for about 8.5% of global forests, as per a recent study.

The emissions estimates from the researchers align closely with other analyses of the 2023 fires in Canada. The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service reported approximately 480 megatons of carbon dioxide emissions from fires, which is based on different analytical methods.

Mark Parrington, a senior scientist at Copernicus, noted that the new study corroborated the findings of their research while incorporating additional satellite data to reduce uncertainties. Although the U.S. has not been as affected by Canadian wildfire smoke this season, large carbon dioxide emissions are once again being released.

Parrington mentioned, “Monitoring indicates that 2024 is the second-worst wildfire year in Canada in the last two decades, based on estimated emissions, following 2023.”

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Wildfire smoke from Canadian and West Coast wildfires spreads throughout North America

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summary

  • Smoke from the wildfires has spread across North America, threatening air quality in much of Canada, California, and the Pacific Northwest.
  • The fast-spreading fire caused widespread damage in the Canadian alpine resort town of Jasper.
  • Firefighters in Oregon, Idaho, and California are also battling blazes that are spreading quickly due to gusty winds and high temperatures.

Raging wildfires in western Canada have sent huge plumes of smoke spreading across North America in recent days, with pollution captured in images by NASA satellites, aircraft, and ground-based observatories.

An animation released by NASA on Friday showed smoke blanketing the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and the Northwest Territories and drifting into other parts of the Midwest, including Montana, Colorado, Kansas, and Wisconsin.

This map uses data from NASA to show the concentration and movement of black carbon, a type of aerosol pollution released by wildfires, over North America from July 17 to July 24.

As of Friday afternoon, there were 948 fires burning in Canada, with 387 of them considered out of control. Canadian Joint Forest Fire Centre The fast-spreading fire caused widespread damage in the popular alpine resort city of Jasper in Alberta and forced the evacuation of 25,000 people.

Massive fires in the Pacific Northwest and California are also polluting the air nearby. Air quality alerts and watches have been issued in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Colorado, and Wyoming over the past week. Smoky skies have also been reported in North Dakota, South Dakota, and across the High Plains.

Oregon is experiencing the largest wildfire season in the US, fueled by lightning, high temperatures, and strong winds, with more than 35 out-of-control wildfires burning a combined total of nearly 1 million acres in the state.

In neighboring Idaho, fast-spreading fires forced the evacuation of the entire town of Juliaetta on Thursday, with more than 600 residents evacuated as the Gwen Fire and other wildfires burning in the area continued to grow.

Cities in Oregon, Montana, California, and Idaho topped the list of places with the worst air quality in the country on Friday. According to IQAir: For example, air pollution levels in Burns, Oregon, were listed as “hazardous,” while air quality in Stevensville, Montana, was listed as “very unhealthy,” according to a Swiss air quality monitoring company.

In California, the Park Fire has already burned more than 250 square miles in the Chico area since starting on Wednesday and remained uncontained as of Friday morning.

Firefighters are also battling the lightning-fought Gold Complex Fire in California’s Plumas National Forest, which has burned more than five square miles since July 22. As of Friday afternoon, the fire was only 11 percent contained, and winds are causing the blaze to spread quickly. According to the California Fire Department.

Smoke from wildfires that have spread eastward to New England and south to Mexico is having a variety of effects on human health.

In addition to black carbon, wildfires release carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, a variety of chemicals, and tiny particles called particulate matter into the air. Together, these substances can irritate the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs and worsen the conditions of diabetes, heart disease, COPD, and chronic kidney disease.

Young children, older adults, pregnant women, and people with asthma or other existing respiratory conditions are at greatest risk from wildfire smoke.

Thunderstorms have played a role in igniting many wildfires in Canada and the western United States, with gusty winds, high temperatures, and more thunderstorms fanning the flames.

Summer wildfires are common in western Canada and the United States, but scientists say climate change is making them more dangerous by creating more favorable conditions for fires to start and spread. Rising temperatures also drier vegetation, making it more flammable.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

The melting sea ice in the Canadian Arctic is now a hindrance, not a help, to shipping.

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Broken sea ice in Lancaster Sound, part of the Northwest Passage

Allison Cook

Shipping companies had hoped that melting sea ice would open up shorter shipping routes through the Canadian Arctic, but thicker ice moving in from further north may dash those hopes.

“North [of the Northwest Passage] “No new routes are expected to open anytime soon.” Allison Cook At the Scottish Association for Marine Science.

For over a century, sailors have navigated the icy waters of the Canadian Arctic along the Northwest Passage, a dangerous but efficient sea route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. As climate change melts the sea ice, the southern part of the passage is less dangerous, and since 1990, voyages through the Northwest Passage have quadrupled.

The North Strait is expected to be an even shorter route, but it is ice-bound for longer periods than the South Strait, and so fewer ships use it. But because the entire route was almost ice-free in the summer of 2007, and the climate has continued to warm since then, many believe the North Strait route will soon become regularly navigable. This possibility has spurred ideas of a boom in Northern Sea Routes.

Cook and his colleagues assessed whether this vision was working using ice charts provided by the Canadian government to ship captains between 2007 and 2021. For each leg of the Northwest Passage, they calculated the number of weeks per year when ice was light enough for moderately ice-hardened ships to navigate safely.

Map showing the route of the Northwest Passage through the Canadian Arctic Islands

Allison Cook

The detailed images of the ice reveal that rather than the passage opening, the safe passage window shortened at several “choke points” along the route, particularly along the northern route. For example, the passage window in the eastern Beaufort Sea shortened from 27 weeks to 13 weeks. The passage window in McClure Strait shortened from 6.5 weeks per year to just two weeks. In other areas, passage windows increased by a few weeks or remained unchanged, but the passage window that determines the overall passage window is determined by the shortest passage window, Cook said.

Researchers believe the shortened season is primarily due to an increase in thicker sea ice flowing in from an area known as the “last ice field” north of Greenland, which is expected to become the last remaining bastion of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean as the climate warms. “Climate change is making the sea ice a little less intense and a little more mobile,” Cook says.

The findings are consistent with expectations that ice will remain in the Canadian Arctic the longest, he said. Amanda Lynch The bigger geopolitical and economic question now is how the melting ice will affect shipping on the Russian side of the Arctic, said Robert G. Schneider, a researcher at Brown University in Rhode Island who was not involved in the study.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Solar Phenomena Cast a Spell on Canadian Skies

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by
Lindsay Dorman, NASA Earth Observatory
December 20, 2023

December 17, 2023

Increased solar activity has led to widespread aurora borealis across Canada.

A surge in solar activity in mid-December 2023 caused energetic particles to collide with Earth’s magnetosphere, creating rippling auroras across Earth’s northern latitudes. VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite)
NOAA–
NASA
The Suomi NPP satellite captured this image of light from the aurora borealis over western Canada in the early morning hours of December 17, 2023. VIIRS’s day/night band detects nighttime light at wavelengths ranging from green to near-infrared, using filtering techniques to observe signals such as city lights, moonlight reflections, and the aurora borealis.

Origin of the aurora borealis

These auroras may have resulted from several coronal mass ejections.
observed December 14th and 15th.mild to moderate
Magnetic storm situation Weather forecasts were expected within days, according to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.
coronal mass ejection contains large amounts of
plasma It is emitted from the sun’s corona and carries an embedded magnetic field.Interactions between these emissions from the Sun and Earth’s upper atmosphere
produce light Produces a colorful aurora.

Increased solar activity

Solar activity is increasing as we approach the peak of solar cycle 25, which is predicted to occur on or around the year 25.
July 2025. The Sun’s magnetic field reverses at the peak of these cycles, and each cycle lasts about 11 years. Scientists track fluctuations in solar activity by monitoring the number and location of sunspots, the dark spots on the sun’s surface that are the main cause of solar eruptions.

Relationship between aurora and solar flares

The aurora seen here occurred several days after the aurora borealis.
strongest solar flare How has this solar cycle been so far? While coronal mass ejections take days to reach Earth, solar flares can reach Earth in minutes and disrupt radio communications. Coronal mass ejections often, but not always, occur in parallel with solar flares.

NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin using VIIRS day/night data from the Suomi National Polar Orbiting Partnership.

Source: scitechdaily.com