Berliner Boersenzeitung - Canada, US warn of air quality hazards as Canadian fire smoke reaches Europe

EUR -
AED 4.33393
AFN 82.488354
ALL 97.918876
AMD 452.494806
ANG 2.111641
AOA 1082.001379
ARS 1450.436914
AUD 1.79499
AWG 2.123886
AZN 2.002014
BAM 1.955778
BBD 2.375973
BDT 143.918348
BGN 1.956831
BHD 0.444846
BIF 3505.430057
BMD 1.179936
BND 1.49897
BOB 8.130907
BRL 6.402807
BSD 1.176786
BTN 100.813843
BWP 15.616821
BYN 3.850956
BYR 23126.754559
BZD 2.363673
CAD 1.603841
CDF 3404.116903
CHF 0.933685
CLF 0.028463
CLP 1092.255238
CNY 8.45472
CNH 8.449035
COP 4713.197181
CRC 594.493177
CUC 1.179936
CUP 31.268316
CVE 110.263734
CZK 24.656
DJF 209.547595
DKK 7.461422
DOP 69.929197
DZD 152.717371
EGP 58.232838
ERN 17.699047
ETB 162.331937
FJD 2.63798
FKP 0.866196
GBP 0.864498
GEL 3.209323
GGP 0.866196
GHS 12.17886
GIP 0.866196
GMD 84.367021
GNF 10200.796467
GTQ 9.047896
GYD 246.187174
HKD 9.262442
HNL 30.754647
HRK 7.535781
HTG 154.446918
HUF 400.25453
IDR 19144.410019
ILS 3.977583
IMP 0.866196
INR 100.956192
IQD 1541.482307
IRR 49704.82317
ISK 142.796302
JEP 0.866196
JMD 188.117841
JOD 0.836563
JPY 169.673717
KES 152.453858
KGS 103.185586
KHR 4722.905765
KMF 493.213951
KPW 1061.974182
KRW 1603.581038
KWD 0.360045
KYD 0.980689
KZT 610.242996
LAK 25360.708918
LBP 105435.589846
LKR 352.935949
LRD 235.937292
LSL 20.787961
LTL 3.484046
LVL 0.713732
LYD 6.336927
MAD 10.577979
MDL 19.774773
MGA 5179.940546
MKD 61.590145
MMK 2476.930075
MNT 4230.405249
MOP 9.514791
MRU 46.745463
MUR 52.943402
MVR 18.173458
MWK 2040.576579
MXN 22.179218
MYR 4.978148
MZN 75.468641
NAD 20.787961
NGN 1804.500216
NIO 43.299136
NOK 11.881695
NPR 161.302149
NZD 1.942778
OMR 0.453697
PAB 1.176686
PEN 4.190952
PGK 4.856903
PHP 66.422754
PKR 335.664047
PLN 4.267596
PYG 9385.892272
QAR 4.290251
RON 5.06216
RSD 117.15712
RUB 93.123296
RWF 1690.380598
SAR 4.425162
SBD 9.837041
SCR 17.039509
SDG 708.551738
SEK 11.226299
SGD 1.501782
SHP 0.927245
SLE 26.489794
SLL 24742.681861
SOS 672.492281
SRD 44.064711
STD 24422.302379
SVC 10.296882
SYP 15341.274375
SZL 20.783761
THB 38.147473
TJS 11.508468
TMT 4.141577
TND 3.425761
TOP 2.763529
TRY 47.070609
TTD 7.979908
TWD 34.070638
TZS 3103.573886
UAH 49.134636
UGX 4220.951553
USD 1.179936
UYU 46.559466
UZS 14916.82879
VES 129.171775
VND 30914.335176
VUV 140.352385
WST 3.069642
XAF 655.949471
XAG 0.032042
XAU 0.000351
XCD 3.188837
XDR 0.815791
XOF 655.949471
XPF 119.331742
YER 285.721832
ZAR 20.728669
ZMK 10620.80931
ZMW 28.273675
ZWL 379.939058
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

Canada, US warn of air quality hazards as Canadian fire smoke reaches Europe
Canada, US warn of air quality hazards as Canadian fire smoke reaches Europe / Photo: HANDOUT - Manitoba Government/AFP

Canada, US warn of air quality hazards as Canadian fire smoke reaches Europe

Canada's wildfires, which have already forced evacuations of more than 26,000 people, continued their stubborn spread Tuesday, with heavy smoke choking millions of Canadians and Americans and reaching as far away as Europe.

Text size:

Alerts were issued for parts of Canada and the neighboring United States warning of hazardous air quality.

A water tanker air base was consumed by flames in Saskatchewan province, oil production has been disrupted in Alberta, and officials warned of worse to come with more communities threatened each day.

"We have some challenging days ahead of us," Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe told a news conference, adding that the number of evacuees could rise quickly.

Every summer, Canada grapples with forest fires, but an early start to the wildfire season this year and the scale of the blazes -- over two million hectares (494,000 acres) burned -- is worrying.

The provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba have been hardest hit. Both declared wildfire emergencies in recent days.

"This has been a very difficult time for many Canadians," federal Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski told reporters in Ottawa.

"This wildfire season has started off more quickly, and it's stronger, more intense," she said, adding that the Canadian military has deployed aircraft to evacuate remote towns in Manitoba and was ready to also assist Saskatchewan and Alberta with firefighting.

Climate change has increased the impact of extreme weather events in Canada, which is still recovering from the apocalyptic summer of 2023 when 15 million hectares of forests were scorched.

As of Tuesday, there were 208 active fires across Canada. Half of them were listed as out of control, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

Many of the affected populations are Indigenous, and some small communities have burned to the ground.

- 'Very intense few weeks' -

Heavy smoke from the fires, meanwhile, has engulfed part of the continent, forcing residents of four Canadian provinces and the US states of Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin to limit outdoor activities.

"Smoke is causing very poor air quality and reduced visibility," Environment Canada said in a statement.

Wildfire smoke is comprised of gaseous pollutants such as carbon monoxide, along with water vapor and particle pollution, which can be particularly hazardous to health.

Some of the worst smoke was in Alberta where three major oil sands producers -- Canadian Natural Resources, MEG Energy Corp, and Cenovus Energy -- this week evacuated workers and temporarily shut down hundreds of thousands of barrels of production per day.

Huge plumes of smoke even reached Europe, the European Union's climate monitoring service said Tuesday.

Due to their very high altitude, they do not pose an immediate health risk, according to the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), but are likely to result in hazy skies and reddish-orange sunsets.

Additional plumes are expected to shade both continents in the coming days.

"Central regions of Canada have experienced a very intense few weeks in terms of wildfire emissions," noted Mark Parrington, scientific director at CAMS.

Canadian authorities have forecast a more intense fire season than usual in central and western Canada, due in particular to severe or extreme drought.

"The significant reduction in snowpack in the spring led to early exposure of soil and vegetation, accelerating surface drying," explained University of Ottawa professor Hossein Bonakdari.

"This early exposure acted as a silent amplifier, subtly setting the stage for extreme fires long before the first flame ignited," he said.

Elsewhere, extensive forest fires have been raging in Russia's Far Eastern Federal District since early April, particularly east of Lake Baikal, generating carbon emissions of around 35 million tons, Copernicus reported.

(F.Schuster--BBZ)