Published June 24, 2023 at 3:10 p.m.
An impressive amount of smoke created by the forest fires in the north of the province is crossing the Atlantic and will cover the skies of Europe in the coming days. Details.
The recent heat wave in northern Quebec brought very dry weather. This lack of humidity combined with the intense heat caused the wildfires to regain strength. If our neighbors to the south have already felt the ravages of smoke from our fires in the skies over the past few weeks, it is now the turn of the residents of Europe. Remember, New England air quality has never been so bad.
Thousands of miles away
After crossing Gaspésie and the province of Newfoundland, these plumes of smoke will darken skies over Ireland and England on Sunday and Monday. The jet stream hovering over the Atlantic carries the smoke from west to east at considerable speed; It will cover a distance of more than 5000 kilometers. Most of the smoke will be found at altitude, but some of it could descend closer to the ground, affecting air quality
We are not immune
The situation won’t be much better for us. Due to the passage of a cold front on Saturday, clouds of smoke are moving south and reducing the air quality during the course of the day on Sunday. The metropolitan area will be affected.
According to the Society for the Protection of Forests from Fire (SOPFEU), more than 470 fires have devastated Quebec’s forests since the beginning of the year. As of June 24, 1,120,000 hectares, 49 times the area of the island of Montreal, were burning in the intensive zone. Unheard of since 1923.
SEE ALSO: THE NATIONAL DAY THREATENED BY THE RISK OF WINNERS