Satellite images and data of the Copernicus atmosphere monitoring service (CAMS) leave no room for doubt: the smoke produced by the forest fires that is suffocating the central provinces of Canada has crossed the Atlantic and has reached Europe. A phenomenon that, although not unpublished, raises concern for the unprecedented intensity and for the atmospheric and potentially health impacts it involves.
Starting from April 2025, vast areas of Canada – in particular Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario – were affected by a series of fires that intensified in May. The exceptionally dry and windy climatic conditions favored the rapid diffusion of the flames, leading to the formation of clouds calls pyrocumulonemb (Pyrocb), which are generated when a fire releases an energy such as to push smoke and particles up to 9,000 meters above sea level.
According to CAMS, carbon emissions from Canadian fires, until June 2, amount to about 56 megatons, The second highest value since 2003. Only in the Manitoba, the estimated emissions have exceeded 13 megattoners, tripling the previous record of 2023. This unprecedented increase forced over 25,000 people to evacuation, in what has been called “one of the greatest exodus in the recent history of the province”.
“Until the beginning of June, our data show that the central regions of Canada have lived a few very intense weeks in terms of wooded fire emissions,” he said Mark ParringtonSenior researcher of the Cams, adding that the transport of smoking in Europe reflects “the extent of the fires and the impacts they had in Manitoba and Saskatchewan”.
The satellite images have confirmed that on May 18 a first smoke pennacchio reached the eastern Mediterranean. A second, much more extensive, crossed the Atlantic between the end of May and the beginning of June, reaching the north-west of Europe. Smoking, transported by powerful jet currents, should not significantly affect the quality of the soil level, but can alter the appearance of the sky, causing unusually red or orange sunsets.
However, even if the low -altitude effects are limited, the persistence of these phenomena raises wider questions. Fire smoke contains fine particulates (PM2.5)carbon monoxide and other pollutants who, depending on altitude and concentration, may have climatic impacts, alter the atmospheric dynamics and contribute to the greenhouse effect. The CAMS monitors these parameters to evaluate their flow rate on a global scale.
To further complicate the picture there are the fires in progress in the Eastern Russiawhere the Republic of Buriazia and the territory of Transbajkalia – both east of Lake Bajkal – have been in an emergency since April. According to CAMS data, carbon emissions in the Federal District of the Far East have reached the highest levels since 2018, with about 35 megatons. Here too, the smoke was transported to northern China, Japan and the Arctic.
In the face of this scenario, the monitoring systems become essential tools not only to understand the extension of the phenomenon, but also to prepare adequate answers. The risk maps spread by the Canadian government and the forecasts of the Global Wildfire Information System (Gwis) indicate that the danger of new outbreaks remains high in most of the country.
It is therefore not just a local or seasonal problem. The growing frequency and intensity of the boreal fires – fueled by more extreme climatic conditions – represents an alarm bell that concerns everyone: the result of what burns thousands of kilometers can also reach our skies.
