Wildfire smoke and Saharan dust over the central Mediterranean basin
A severe wildfire emergency has been affecting northern Algeria in recent days. As of 28 August 2026, official reports indicate at least 12 fatalities and 54 injuries. Most of the reported casualties occurred in the provinces of Jijel, Béjaïa, and Tizi Ouzou.
The fires generated large smoke plumes, which have been transported eastwards over the Mediterranean and along the North African coast towards Tunisia.
This image, acquired by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellites on 27 August 2026, shows smoke from the wildfires extending over the Mediterranean. Smoke is also visible farther east over the sea between Tunisia and Sicily. Plumes rising near the Algerian coast indicate that fires were still active at the time of data acquisition.
The image also shows a separate plume of Saharan dust farther west over the Mediterranean. Wildfire smoke and Saharan dust were therefore present simultaneously across different parts of the central Mediterranean.
The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) recently launched Fire Emissions Watch, an interactive online application to track global wildfire activity and emissions in near-real time.
More information here.
