Canada's 2023 wildfires burned huge chunks of forest, spewing far more heat-trapping gas than planes
6 months, 1 week ago

Canada's 2023 wildfires burned huge chunks of forest, spewing far more heat-trapping gas than planes

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. So when they burn all the carbon that's stored within them gets released back into the atmosphere,” said study lead author James MacCarthy, a research associate with WRI's Global Forest Watch. “Because of these catastrophic fires, air quality in populated areas and cities was affected last year,” she said, mentioning New York City's smog-choked summer. “The 2023 fire season in Canada was exceptional year in any time period,” Flannigan, who wasn't part of the WRI study, said in an email. “I expect more fire in our future, but years like 2023 will be rare.” Flannigan, Bendix, Tyukavina and MacCarthy all said climate change played a role in Canada's big burn.

Climate Change Climate Canada Air Forest Carbon Study Canadian Fires Flannigan Maccarthy Spewing Far Change Tyukavina  spewing  far  wildfires  planes  chunks  heattrapping  carbon  change  tyukavina  canadas  huge  study  global  canada  fires  gas  forest  climate  air

History of this topic

What is the latest science telling us about climate change?
2 days, 5 hours ago

What is the latest science telling us about climate change?

The Hindu  

After another record-breaking year for global temperatures in 2024, pressure is rising on policymakers to step up efforts to curb climate change. The last global scientific consensus on the phenomenon was released in 2021 through the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, but scientists say evidence shows global warming and its impacts have since been unfolding faster than expected. Critical point …

Greenhouse Gas Levels Soar to Record, Warns WMO
2 months, 1 week ago

Greenhouse Gas Levels Soar to Record, Warns WMO

Live Mint  

Greenhouse gas levels hit record highs in 2023, with annual mean CO2 levels soaring by 2.3 PPM. This is the twelfth consecutive year of increasing CO2 levels, and the year 2023 also emerged as the warmest on record, surpassing the 2016-level. The rise in greenhouse gases is a major concern, as it contributes to climate change and extreme weather events. …

Author John Vaillant on our new era of megafires: ‘The world changed because we changed it’
3 months, 1 week ago

Author John Vaillant on our new era of megafires: ‘The world changed because we changed it’

The Independent  

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Award-winning writer John Vaillant provided a captivating yet disconcerting view of our new era of …

Canada’s wildfires created more emissions than almost every country last year
4 months, 1 week ago

Canada’s wildfires created more emissions than almost every country last year

The Independent  

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The record-breaking wildfires that tore through Canada last year were responsible for sending more planet-heating …

Carbon emissions of biomass burning quantified
5 months ago

Carbon emissions of biomass burning quantified

China Daily  

A groundbreaking study by the Aerospace Information Research Institute with the Chinese Academy of Sciences has revealed the staggering carbon footprint of global vegetation fires. The research, published in the journal Earth System Science Data, said carbon emissions from such fires averaged 25.9 billion metric tons a year between 2020 and 2022. "Accurately quantifying carbon emissions from biomass burning is …

Biomass burning causes 2.59b tons of carbon emission per year
5 months ago

Biomass burning causes 2.59b tons of carbon emission per year

China Daily  

The Aerospace Information Research Institute at the Chinese Academy of Sciences has quantified the carbon emissions caused by biomass burning worldwide since 2020 and established a database. The research results show that from 2020 to 2022, the carbon emissions from the biomass burning or the global vegetation fires amounted to as high as 2.59 billion tons per year. Shi Yusheng, …

Wildfires spread as hottest day recorded
5 months, 2 weeks ago

Wildfires spread as hottest day recorded

China Daily  

Firefighters work to battle the Lone Rock fire in Spray, Oregon in the US on Monday. OREGON STATE FIRE MARSHAL/HANDOUT/REUTERS Numerous severe wildfires have erupted across the northern hemisphere during early summer, sending massive smoke plumes over Eurasia and North America. Mark Parrington, a senior scientist at CAMS, said, "We have been closely monitoring boreal fires in CAMS over a …

Extreme Wildfires Have Doubled in Frequency and Intensity in the Past 20 Years
55 years ago

Extreme Wildfires Have Doubled in Frequency and Intensity in the Past 20 Years

Wired  

THIS ARTICLE IS republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Watching the news, it certainly feels like catastrophic extreme wildfires are happening more often, and unfortunately this feeling has now been confirmed as correct. A new study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution shows that the number and intensity of the most extreme wildfires on Earth have doubled …

Canada’s 2023 wildfires burned huge chunks of forest, spewing far more heat-trapping gas than planes
6 months, 1 week ago

Canada’s 2023 wildfires burned huge chunks of forest, spewing far more heat-trapping gas than planes

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Catastrophic Canadian warming-fueled wildfires last year pumped more heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the air than India did by burning fossil fuels, setting ablaze an area of forest larger than West Virginia, new research found. Catastrophic Canadian warming-fueled wildfires last year pumped more heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the air than India did by burning fossil fuels, new research found. …

Why Canada is riddled with wildfires that burn year-round
7 months, 1 week ago

Why Canada is riddled with wildfires that burn year-round

BBC  

Why Canada is riddled with wildfires that burn year-round Getty Images Wildfire smoke blanketed not just Canada but northern parts of the US in 2023's intense fire season A rise in zombie fires in Canada is having knock-on effects for the wildfire season. Mike Flannigan, a professor of wildland fire at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia who has been …

Canada wildfires spur evacuation orders, warnings: What you need to know
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Canada wildfires spur evacuation orders, warnings: What you need to know

Al Jazeera  

More than 130 wildfires are burning across Canada, federal tracker says, as massive blazes force thousands to evacuate. This week, residents of the small town of Fort Nelson, in northeastern British Columbia, were forced from their homes as a blaze grew “dramatically” in only a few days and was moving towards the community. Canada saw its most intense fire season …

Unwieldy wildfires scorch Canada and threaten catastrophe-scarred Fort McMurray with more flames
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Unwieldy wildfires scorch Canada and threaten catastrophe-scarred Fort McMurray with more flames

CNN  

CNN — Improving winds and a storm moving into western Canada are providing a temporary boost to firefighters battling massive wildfires, but the danger remains heightened as they burn close to three communities. Winds have died down in some areas and shifted in others, pushing flames away from Alberta’s Fort McMurray, a city still haunted by a catastrophic 2016 fire …

Evacuation orders issued as wildfire grows near Canada’s Alberta oil patch
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Evacuation orders issued as wildfire grows near Canada’s Alberta oil patch

Al Jazeera  

Authorities say firefighters are facing a ‘challenging day’ as a huge blaze nears Fort McMurray in the Alberta tar sands. Authorities in the Canadian province of Alberta have issued evacuation orders for neighbourhoods in Fort McMurray, as a growing wildfire nears the community at the heart of Canada’s tar sands region. Known as the Parker Lake wildfire, the blaze in …

Canadian wildfire smoke chokes upper Midwest for second straight year
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Canadian wildfire smoke chokes upper Midwest for second straight year

LA Times  

Smoke from Canadian wildfires has prompted health warnings across the upper Midwest for the second straight year. Most of the smoke was expected to linger over Minnesota, Wisconsin and northern Michigan, but some could drift as far south as Iowa and Chicago, leaving skies looking milky by late Tuesday or early Wednesday, said Rafal Ogorek, a meteorologist in the National …

Climate change supercharged a heat dome, intensifying 2021 fire season, study finds
8 months, 2 weeks ago

Climate change supercharged a heat dome, intensifying 2021 fire season, study finds

LA Times  

As a massive heat dome lingered over the Pacific Northwest three years ago, swaths of North America simmered — and then burned. “But based on the hellaciously warm temperatures in that month, the significant heat wave events, we can say that those conditions certainly helped enable fuels to become incredibly available and provided less resistance to fire, once a fire …

Drought, heat raise the risk of a repeat of Canada’s record-breaking wildfires last year
8 months, 4 weeks ago

Drought, heat raise the risk of a repeat of Canada’s record-breaking wildfires last year

Associated Press  

OTTAWA, Ontario — Canada’s emergency preparedness minister warned Wednesday the country’s wildfire season could be more explosive than last year when it led to unprecedented smoke conditions across much of the country and into the United States. Persistent drought and months of above-average temperatures have raised the risk of a repeat of last year’s record-breaking wildfires, prompting federal ministers to …

Canada has early start to wildfire season as ‘zombie’ blazes smoulder through winter
10 months, 2 weeks ago

Canada has early start to wildfire season as ‘zombie’ blazes smoulder through winter

The Independent  

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Canada’s wildfire season has got off to an early start with fears that this year …

Megafires are increasing with climate change, experts say — but could the emissions they pump out change the climate?
11 months, 2 weeks ago

Megafires are increasing with climate change, experts say — but could the emissions they pump out change the climate?

ABC  

Just six days in to the northern hemisphere summer of 2023, the skyline in New York City was stained in a sepia smoke haze. Fires spark change in global carbon budget The extreme nature of the northern hemisphere fire season of 2023 prompted an international group of leading scientists to make a change to their annual Global Carbon Budget for …

Climate change boosts risk of explosive wildfire growth in California by 25%, study says
1 year, 4 months ago

Climate change boosts risk of explosive wildfire growth in California by 25%, study says

LA Times  

Sierra Cobras fire crew member Gustavo Cisneros keeps an eye on a hillside as flames roil the Sequoia National Forest during the 2021 Windy fire. “So it’s important to look at more direct on-the-ground solutions to the problem like fuel reduction.” Although previous studies have looked at the impact of climate change on broader metrics like annual area burned, as …

Mapping the scale of Canada’s record wildfires
1 year, 4 months ago

Mapping the scale of Canada’s record wildfires

Al Jazeera  

Canada is battling more than 1,000 active fires, and nearly two-thirds of them are out of control. While Canada experiences fires every summer, this year’s blazes have scorched at least 15.3 million hectares of land, nearly 10 times more than 2022 and roughly the size of New York state. According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, 1,036 active fires …

Climate change doubled chance of weather conditions that led to record Quebec fires, researchers say
1 year, 4 months ago

Climate change doubled chance of weather conditions that led to record Quebec fires, researchers say

Associated Press  

Climate change more than doubled the chances of the hot, dry weather that helped fuel the unprecedented wildfire season in eastern Canada that’s driven thousands from their homes and blanketed parts of the U.S. with choking smoke, according to an analysis released Tuesday. What’s more, human-caused climate change made the fire season in Quebec — from May through July — …

‘Grim situation’ in Canada’s British Columbia as wildfires intensify
1 year, 4 months ago

‘Grim situation’ in Canada’s British Columbia as wildfires intensify

Al Jazeera  

Authorities in western Canada have implored tens of thousands of people to heed evacuation orders and warned of difficult days ahead as “severe and fast-changing” forest fires in the province of British Columbia intensified further. “We are still in some critically dry conditions and are still expecting difficult days ahead,” said Jerrad Schroeder, deputy fire centre manager at the Kamloops …

Canada’s wildfires have burnt an area 16 times larger than normal
1 year, 4 months ago

Canada’s wildfires have burnt an area 16 times larger than normal

Hindustan Times  

“Blame Canada ”, read the front page of the New York Post, when smoke from wildfires in Quebec blanketed the east coast of the United States last week. What had previously been a problem in Canada—of enormous wildfires—quickly became one in the United States, when abnormal winds pushed plumes south of the border. That is greater than the total area …

After Maui, wildfire impacts thousands in Canada
1 year, 4 months ago

After Maui, wildfire impacts thousands in Canada

Hindustan Times  

After the dreadful disaster in Hawaii in the United States, another North American country Canada is facing the threat of wildfires. Hundreds of people started to be airlifted to safety from remote villages threatened by wildfires in Canada's far north overnight Monday to Tuesday after Yellowknife, the largest city in the region, declared an emergency. / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE …

When wildfires reach the stratosphere
1 year, 4 months ago

When wildfires reach the stratosphere

BBC  

How Canada's wildfires are warming the stratosphere Wildfires are on the rise due to climate change, but blazes could also be pushing up temperatures long after they are extinguished Extreme wildfires are increasing due to rising emissions, but they also disrupt the climate in return. The big thing we've already learnt is that wildfires can be important for several effects …

Why can't Canada just put the fires out? Here are 5 answers to key questions
1 year, 5 months ago

Why can't Canada just put the fires out? Here are 5 answers to key questions

NPR  

Why can't Canada just put the fires out? Sponsor Message To get answers about Canada's wildfire, NPR contacted four experts: Quinn Barber, a fire science analyst at the Canadian Forest Services in Alberta, a fire science analyst at the Canadian Forest Services in Alberta Paige Fischer, an environmental scientist at the University of Michigan, an environmental scientist at the University …

AP PHOTOS: Canada’s wildfires blacken thousands of square miles, upend lives
1 year, 5 months ago

AP PHOTOS: Canada’s wildfires blacken thousands of square miles, upend lives

Associated Press  

Canada’s worst-ever wildfire season has choked much of North America with dangerous smoke for months, coupling with deadly heat around the globe in a summer that’s focusing the world’s attention on the perils of climate change. A scorched car rests in the yard of a home destroyed by a wildfire in the East Prairie Metis Settlement, Alberta, on Tuesday, July …

AP PHOTOS: Canada's wildfires blacken thousands of square miles, upend lives
1 year, 5 months ago

AP PHOTOS: Canada's wildfires blacken thousands of square miles, upend lives

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Canada's worst-ever wildfire season has …

Canadian wildfires hit Indigenous communities hard, threatening their land and culture
1 year, 5 months ago

Canadian wildfires hit Indigenous communities hard, threatening their land and culture

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “Why would I want to leave such beautiful memories?” …

Wildfires have burned a record amount of area in the Canadian province of British Columbia
1 year, 5 months ago

Wildfires have burned a record amount of area in the Canadian province of British Columbia

Associated Press  

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Wildfires have already burned a record amount of area in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the situation will probably get worse due to more hot, dry weather, government officials said Tuesday. The BC Wildfire Service website said since April 1, 1,183 wildfires have burned 13986 square kilometers. Wildfire Service, said the province is just …

Global heat is just the latest 2023 extreme that shows an Earth in crisis
1 year, 6 months ago

Global heat is just the latest 2023 extreme that shows an Earth in crisis

The Hindu  

As a warming Earth simmered into worrisome new territory this week, scientists said the unofficial records being set for average planetary temperature were a clear sign of how pollutants released by humans are warming their environment. Dying coral reefs, more intense Nor’easters and the wildfire smoke that has choked much of North America this summer are among the many other …

Wildfires in Canada have broken records for area burned, evacuations and cost, official says
1 year, 6 months ago

Wildfires in Canada have broken records for area burned, evacuations and cost, official says

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Wildfires raging across Canada have …

Wildfires in Canada have broken records for area burned, evacuations and cost, official says
1 year, 6 months ago

Wildfires in Canada have broken records for area burned, evacuations and cost, official says

Associated Press  

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Wildfires raging across Canada have already broken records for total area burned, the number of people forced to evacuate their homes and the cost of fighting the blazes, and the fire season is only halfway finished, officials said Thursday. “It’s no understatement to say that the 2023 fire season is and will continue to be record …

Global heat is just the latest 2023 extreme that shows an Earth in crisis
1 year, 6 months ago

Global heat is just the latest 2023 extreme that shows an Earth in crisis

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Some other recent “firsts” and events that indicate climate …

‘Never just the heat’: Signals of climate distress on the rise
1 year, 6 months ago

‘Never just the heat’: Signals of climate distress on the rise

Al Jazeera  

As a warming Earth simmered into worrisome new territory this week, scientists said the unofficial records being set for average planetary temperature were a clear sign of how pollutants released by humans are warming their environment. “Heat sets the pace of our climate in so many ways … it’s never just the heat,” Kim Cobb, a climate scientist at Brown …

Again With the Dang Canadian Wildfire Smoke?
1 year, 6 months ago

Again With the Dang Canadian Wildfire Smoke?

Slate  

Since June, smoke from hundreds of wildfires raging across Canada has been blowing into the United States, tanking air quality here—New York City earned the worst air quality ranking in the world, and that quickly was overtaken by Chicago and Detroit. Natural Resources Canada explained that this is due to “ongoing drought and long-range forecasts for warm temperatures.” Research suggests …

Canada's record wildfire season continues to hammer U.S. air quality
1 year, 6 months ago

Canada's record wildfire season continues to hammer U.S. air quality

NPR  

Canada's record wildfire season continues to hammer U.S. air quality Enlarge this image toggle caption Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images Several hundred wildfires are continuing to burn across several Canadian provinces this weekend, with an ongoing impact on impact air quality for vast swaths of the North American continent. Earlier this week the air quality …

Expect a hot, smoky summer in much of America. Here’s why you’d better get used to it
1 year, 6 months ago

Expect a hot, smoky summer in much of America. Here’s why you’d better get used to it

Associated Press  

The only break much of America can hope for anytime soon from eye-watering dangerous smoke from fire-struck Canada is brief bouts of shirt-soaking sweltering heat and humidity from a southern heat wave that has already proven deadly, forecasters say. “The conditions are not going to be very favorable.” “As long as those fires keep burning up there, that’s going to …

Smoke continues to cover large swathes of US as Canada fires rage
1 year, 6 months ago

Smoke continues to cover large swathes of US as Canada fires rage

Al Jazeera  

Nearly a third of US citizens are under air quality warnings as haze covers Midwest and East Coast. Poor air quality caused by Canadian wildfires has continued to affect large swathes of North America, with nearly a third of United States residents warned of unhealthy conditions. Air quality warnings on Thursday stretched from Wisconsin and northern Illinois across Michigan and …

Rain hasn’t quelled Canadian wildfires, and more smoky haze is on the way, officials say
1 year, 6 months ago

Rain hasn’t quelled Canadian wildfires, and more smoky haze is on the way, officials say

Associated Press  

TORONTO — Canadian wildfires will send worsening smoky air across the country and neighboring United States in coming days after recent heavy rains in Quebec missed the places where the fires are most active, officials said Wednesday. Canadian officials say it is the nation’s worst wildfire season ever and they expect air quality to remain a concern through the summer, …

Smoke from Canada wildfires is increasing health risks in Black and poorer US communities
1 year, 6 months ago

Smoke from Canada wildfires is increasing health risks in Black and poorer US communities

Associated Press  

DETROIT — Smoky air from Canada’s wildfires shrouded broad swaths of the U.S. from Minnesota to New York and Kentucky on Wednesday, prompting warnings to stay inside and exacerbating health risks for people already suffering from industrial pollution. Detroit, a mostly Black city with a poverty rate of about 30%, had some of the worst air quality in the U.S. …

More haze hangs over the Great Lakes region as Canadian wildfires burn on
1 year, 6 months ago

More haze hangs over the Great Lakes region as Canadian wildfires burn on

LA Times  

The sun sets Tuesday amid a smoky haze from Canadian wildfires before a baseball game at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The haze of unhealthful air that settled over Chicago and other Great Lakes cities Tuesday reminded Americans from the Midwest to the Northeast and as far south as Kentucky to brace for more, depending on which way the wind blows …

Wildfire burn areas in California are growing ever larger due to greenhouse gas emissions
1 year, 6 months ago

Wildfire burn areas in California are growing ever larger due to greenhouse gas emissions

LA Times  

Although California may be enjoying a lull in this year’s wildfire season — courtesy of a wet winter and a cool spring — scientists say humanity’s relentless burning of fossil fuels has ensured that wildland fires will scorch ever larger portions of the state, perhaps as much as 52% more by midcentury. AghaKouchak said similar attribution studies — such as …

Fact Check: How Canada’s wildfires really started
1 year, 6 months ago

Fact Check: How Canada’s wildfires really started

The Hindu  

Published : Jun 13, 2023 16:51 IST - 5 MINS READ A recent TikTok video, posted by DW’s environment series Planet A, explained some of the triggers behind the ongoing wildfires in Canada, including extreme heat, drought and human carelessness. But the Canadian Drought Monitor, a government agency, said the weeks leading up to the Nova Scotia fires were “significantly …

Wildfire smoke from Canada might be a problem ‘all summer’
1 year, 6 months ago

Wildfire smoke from Canada might be a problem ‘all summer’

The Independent  

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy As the number of wildfires continues to grow across Canada, public officials are warning that …

Explained | What is causing large-scale wildfires in Canada?
1 year, 6 months ago

Explained | What is causing large-scale wildfires in Canada?

The Hindu  

The story so far: New York City’s air quality is currently ranked among the worst in the world due to drifting smoke rising from wildfires in Canada. Although the simulated relative increase of the global total lightning flash rate is similar to the relative increase of the global LCC lightning flash rates, the trends are opposite in some regions including …

In Frames | Canadian wildfires choking U.S.
1 year, 6 months ago

In Frames | Canadian wildfires choking U.S.

The Hindu  

The devastating wildfires in Canada raging from the western provinces to Atlantic Canada have displaced more than 20,000 people and scorched about 3.8 million hectares of land prompting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to describe this wildfire season as the country’s worst ever. Climate activists, seen through fumes, protest while smoke and haze caused by wildfires in Canada pass through New …

Did climate change cause Canada's wildfires?
1 year, 6 months ago

Did climate change cause Canada's wildfires?

BBC  

Did climate change cause Canada's wildfires? "We know that human-induced climate change is warming Canada at about twice the global average rate," says Nathan Gillett, a research scientist at the Canadian government's environment department. Getty Images Experts say that climate change intertwines with other important factors such as forest management as the "cause" of wildfires There has been a change …

Canadians fighting wildfires see hope in improving weather conditions
1 year, 6 months ago

Canadians fighting wildfires see hope in improving weather conditions

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Canadians fighting the wildfires that …

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