Smoke from the British Columbia, Northwest Territories fires will travel 'incredible distances'
Elianna Lev
Updated Fri, August 18, 2023
Residents watch the McDougall Creek wildfire in West Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, on August 17, 2023, from Kelowna. Evacuation orders were put in place for areas near Kelowna, as the fire threatened the city of around 150,000. Canada is experiencing a record-setting wildfire season, with official estimates of over 13.7 million hectares (33.9 million acres) already scorched. Four people have died so far.
(Photo by Darren HULL / AFP)
British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the Prairies are going to have a lot of smoke issues well into the fall, according to one weather expert. That’s because fires are expected to continue to burn well into that season.
Terri Lang is a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada. She says the smoke is going to be worse in places that are directly downstream from the fires burning in B.C. and Northwest Territories, and in the vicinity of the fires.
However, she explains that smoke forecasting is exceptionally difficult. Not only does it depend on the winds at low levels where the fires are occurring, but the smoke from the fires can be carried to very high elevations in the atmosphere.
“They can be carried to incredible distances,” she tells Yahoo News Canada.
It depends on what the atmosphere is doing. Sometimes it just stays high up in the air, making the sun or moon orange-y, and then other times it’ll mix down to the surface and you’ll get bad cases where visibility and air quality drops. It’s really difficult to forecast.Terri Lang, meteorologist, Environment and Climate Change Canada
In Canada, the prevailing upper winds are westerly. Any angle from westerly that has fires coming from it is going to bring the smoke across in places to the east, and most of Canada is to the east of where the fires are coming from right now.
Lang says Quebec can expect to get hit with the smoke in the next few days, because of the ways the winds are carrying it
To make matters worse, no substantial rain is expected in the forecast. A tropical storm, which will start off as a hurricane, is coming up from the Gulf of California, but considering the deficit of rain Western Canada’s been experiencing for the past year, it would take a lot of precipitation to put out the incredible amount of fires burning.
Terri Lang is a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada. She says the smoke is going to be worse in places that are directly downstream from the fires burning in B.C. and Northwest Territories, and in the vicinity of the fires.
However, she explains that smoke forecasting is exceptionally difficult. Not only does it depend on the winds at low levels where the fires are occurring, but the smoke from the fires can be carried to very high elevations in the atmosphere.
“They can be carried to incredible distances,” she tells Yahoo News Canada.
It depends on what the atmosphere is doing. Sometimes it just stays high up in the air, making the sun or moon orange-y, and then other times it’ll mix down to the surface and you’ll get bad cases where visibility and air quality drops. It’s really difficult to forecast.Terri Lang, meteorologist, Environment and Climate Change Canada
In Canada, the prevailing upper winds are westerly. Any angle from westerly that has fires coming from it is going to bring the smoke across in places to the east, and most of Canada is to the east of where the fires are coming from right now.
Lang says Quebec can expect to get hit with the smoke in the next few days, because of the ways the winds are carrying it
To make matters worse, no substantial rain is expected in the forecast. A tropical storm, which will start off as a hurricane, is coming up from the Gulf of California, but considering the deficit of rain Western Canada’s been experiencing for the past year, it would take a lot of precipitation to put out the incredible amount of fires burning.
Why are the wildfires so widespread this year?
As to why the wildfires continue to burn, Lang says Western Canada has been experiencing plenty of hot and dry conditions since May, which helps the fires thrive. Some parts of B.C. experienced the warmest and driest May on record.
“That really set the stage,” she says. “A lot of the spring rains failed to come.”
The past week much of the province has been heating up - with some regions seeing temperatures over 40 degrees. That combined with wind patterns has led to fires taking off.
“It’s good if you’re a fire but it’s bad if you’re fighting that fire,” she says.
Because of the incredible distances that smoke can carry, Canada, particularly in the western regions, is likely to continue seeing the smoke well into the fall and perhaps until the snow starts to come down.
Some fires will actually last over the winter, they get deep into the ground and the peat moss, and then in the spring they’ll fire up again. It’s just the nature of how fires are.Terri Lang, meteorologist, Environment and Climate Change Canada
As to why the wildfires continue to burn, Lang says Western Canada has been experiencing plenty of hot and dry conditions since May, which helps the fires thrive. Some parts of B.C. experienced the warmest and driest May on record.
“That really set the stage,” she says. “A lot of the spring rains failed to come.”
The past week much of the province has been heating up - with some regions seeing temperatures over 40 degrees. That combined with wind patterns has led to fires taking off.
“It’s good if you’re a fire but it’s bad if you’re fighting that fire,” she says.
Because of the incredible distances that smoke can carry, Canada, particularly in the western regions, is likely to continue seeing the smoke well into the fall and perhaps until the snow starts to come down.
Some fires will actually last over the winter, they get deep into the ground and the peat moss, and then in the spring they’ll fire up again. It’s just the nature of how fires are.Terri Lang, meteorologist, Environment and Climate Change Canada
Keith Swirlle rests in his truck while directing traffic from Yellowknife in Fort Providence, N.W.T., Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
No comments:
Post a Comment