Western Canada engulfed in smoke

Wildfires continue to plague Canada in, making this the worst wildfire season on record and exacerbating ongoing air quality issues due to dense smoke. The country has been ravaged by fires for the past three months, with numerous new blazes rapidly spreading across Alberta, British Columbia, and the Northwest Territories in recent days.

The large number of fires has generated an immense cloud of smoke that is affecting air quality in adjacent areas. According to forecasts from the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS), the smoke is travelling long distances, moving from western Canada into the North Atlantic, and has already reached parts of Europe.

This mosaic of images, producing using data from Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellites that was captured on 29 August, shows the distribution of smoke, primarily in the areas of British Columbia, Northwest Territories and Alberta, where the fires are now concentrated.

CAMS provides accurate and timely forecasts of air quality on a global scale, assisting in decision-making on health issues arising from large-scale environmental crises such as wildfires.