Smoke From Canada Wildfires Expected to Reach Norway

Earlier this week, officials predicted that Canada is facing its worst wildfire season on record. Hundreds of fires are already burning around the country, with many concentrated in the Quebec province. Officials in Norway are now expecting the smoke to reach the country.

Climate scientists at the Norwegian Climate and Environmental Research Institute (NILU) used the FLEXPART modeling tool to predict movement of the smoke, which was over Greenland and Iceland on June 1. Researchers are already observing an increase in aerosol concentrations at the Birkenes Observatory in southern Norway.

“We may be able to see some haze or smell smoke,” senior scientist Nikolaos Evangeliou said in a statement. “However, we do not believe that the number of particles in the air here in Norway will be large enough to be harmful to our health.”

Although the amount of smoke reaching Norway may not be harmful to health, the NILU scientists noted that the smoke in Canada and the U.S. could be dangerous.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the fine particles of wildfire smoke are irritants and can cause difficulty breathing, irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, reduced lung function, increased risk of asthma exacerbation and life-threatening impacts, including stroke, heart attack and heart failure. These effects can take place even with short-term exposure to wildfire smoke.

Additionally, the NILU scientists warned that soot and smoke from wildfires can land in ice- or snow-covered areas. If it accumulates, it makes these surfaces darker, meaning they will absorb more solar radiation. This can contribute to more global warming, which, in turn, can lead to more frequent and intense wildfires.

“So I think these kind of episodes are to be more common in the future,” NILU research director Kjetil Tørseth told The Associated Press. “And they do, of course, have an impact on climate. We are especially interested to see the effects on the Arctic, where soot deposition onto snow and ice might actually increase the local warming.”

Smoke from fires in eastern Canada has already caused increasingly worse air quality in parts of the midwestern and eastern U.S. As CBS News reported, New York City’s air quality was among the worst in the world over the past couple of days. IQAir, which monitors air quality, measured the city’s air quality index (AQI) at 177 at the time of writing, a level considered “unhealthy.” It reached 199 on Wednesday, June 7. The company expects the area’s air quality to improve to “moderate” levels over the weekend.