Forest fires were mostly started by lightning. Their spread was then exacerbated by a lack of precipitation and abnormally high temperatures.
(Victor Danneyrolles)
Dorian M. Gaboriau, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT); Jonathan Lesven, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT); Victor Danneyrolles, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC), and Yves Bergeron, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT)
The forest fires of the summer of 2023 in Québec were devastating. It was the worst year in 50 years. But with climate change, the worst may be yet to come.
Wildfire smoke, even from fires far away, carries potentially harmful gases that, once inside, tend to stick around. An air quality specialist offers an easy, cheap, effective way to deal with it.
If you were pregnant or parenting during Australia’s 2019–20 summer of smoke and fire, chances are you felt acutely anxious – and grappling with impossible responsibility.
Wildfire smoke turned the sky over New York City an apocalyptic shade of orange on June 7, 2023.
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Thick smoke pouring in from Canada’s wildfires canceled baseball games and pushed air quality in major US cities to the worst in the world.
Thick wildfire smoke blankets the landscape near Water Valley, Alta., in May 2023. Evidence linking wildfire smoke with adverse health effects has been accumulating for years.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
The notion that wildfire smoke is ‘natural,’ and therefore less harmful than other types of air pollution, is not supported by the evidence. Wildfire smoke has been linked to adverse health effects.
Air quality forecasting is getting better, thanks in part to AI. That’s good, given the health impact of air pollution. An environmental engineer explains how systems warn of incoming smog or smoke.
Thick smoke rises from a peat bog fire in June 2023.
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Large stretches of the Arctic are carbon-rich peat bogs. As the region warms and dries, lightning strikes can spark underground fires that can burn for years.
An adult male orangutan contemplates his next move in haze produced by Indonesia’s 2015 wildfires.
Wendy Erb
Fires in Canada have sent smoke across several US states, leaving cities including New York, Chicago and Denver with some of the worst air quality in the world – even far from the flames.
Brown carbon refers to a range of pollutants found in smoke from wildfires. They can contribute to global warming before they undergo a process that alters their chemical properties.
Bad air pollution and extreme heat each raise health risks, but they’re worse combined.
Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Barbecued food has unique and often delicious flavors. A food chemist explains how the process of grilling over an open flame can produce flavors unattainable through other cooking methods.
A lone jogger runs during a heat wave in the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area in Los Angeles on June 17, 2021.
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