This year’s forest fire season in Canada has burned far larger areas than at any time since measurements began in 1983. So far, over 181,000 km² have been consumed by the flames. That corresponds to an area the size of half of Norway, or 100 lakes the size of Mjøsa. From before, the worst fire year was 1995. Then 71,000 km² were consumed by the flames. Put another way; this year’s fire season is more than 2.5 times as bad as the worst previously recorded. A fire ravaged West Kelowna in the province of British Columbia in mid-August. British Columbia is one of the provinces hardest hit by the fires. Photo: AFP Struggling to find words AFP writes that researchers are struggling to find words to describe this year’s fires. “Never seen before”, “unprecedented in scope and duration” and “enormous long-term effects”, were some of the formulations used. – We have broken all Canadian records, says forest fire specialist Yan Boulanger at Canada’s Ministry of Natural Resources. AFP describes the scientist as shaken when he talks about the fires. A gas station in Squilax, British Columbia, was engulfed in flames in September. Eight firefighters have lost their lives fighting the flames this year. Photo: AP Not over At the same time, the forest fires are not over for this year. One map from Nasa shows that during the last 24 hours there were several hundred fires of over 4 km² each. Around the city of Yellowknife, there is still so much smoke from the fires that people are using the same N95 masks that were used during the pandemic, the CBC reports. The weather also does not give hope that rain and cold will stop the fires. For example, YR reports temperatures above 20 degrees for the weekend. Melanie Morin from the Society of Protection of Forests from Fire (Sopfeu) in a deforested forest in Quebec. Photo: AP May not come back The spruce forest in Abitibi-Temiscamingue in Quebec is among the areas that were ravaged this summer. Reuters describes a desolate landscape where green trees reigned only months ago. “No leaves on the branches, black trunks and charred roots. Only a little moss has survived the flames. As far as the eye can see, it’s just the same desolate landscape.” – There is little chance that this forest will live again. The trees were too young to have had cones that can ensure a new generation, says professor of forest ecology at the University of Quebec, Maxence Martin. This summer, the huge forest fires in Canada led to heavy haze in New York. Photo: AFP Climate change Like other countries located far to the north, Canada is particularly exposed to climate change and global warming. The World Weather Attribution (WWA) is a group of scientists who look at how climate change increases the likelihood of extreme weather and other phenomena. They have concluded that climate change has more than doubled the likelihood of the fires that have hit Quebec, in eastern Canada. The researchers say that it is a cautious estimate, – The real number will be higher, but it is difficult to say how much higher, says one of the researchers behind the report, Friederike Otto, to the New York Times. Will cost large sums The Canadian government estimates that in a normal year it costs over NOK 8 billion to fight the fires. That’s just what we’re talking about when it comes to what fire crews, fire planes and the like. In addition, the fires destroy forests and other things of enormous value. Canada’s Climate Institute estimates, according to AFP, that the fires will halve the country’s economic growth in the coming years.
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This year’s forest fires in Canada blow up the scale – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
