Canada Up in Flames
By: Margaret Chen
Since May 2023, Canada has been engulfed by a record-breaking season of wildfires. Over 70,000 square miles of land has been burned by 4,300 fires. To put this into perspective, this is roughly the size of Washington state, and the last season that was this severe clocked in at 30,000 square miles in 1989. Furthermore, although Canada is no stranger to wildfires, it typically experiences peak wildfire season in June. Yet, these fires are still burning with scorching intensity even though historically, the frequency of these fires should be declining. So what does this mean?
The fires have caused tens of thousands of Canadians to evacuate their homes in order to avoid the heat. However, other countries and even continents have also been affected by the fires. Over the last couple months, the US experienced historically poor air quality, especially around the Great Lakes and in the northeast. Cities such as Chicago and New York have been blanketed by orange hazes as a result of wind blowing the heavy smoke. If the smoke is severe, inhaling the small particles contained in the smoke can affect the heart and lungs, which has led the Environmental Protection Agency to issue statements urging those in affected areas to “stay indoors and reduce activity levels” to avoid breathing the toxic air. Thankfully, the wildfires have not induced as severe air quality indexes as they did in the summer, although the smoke is still altering the weather and the appearance of the sky, even causing the sun to look lilac in Europe.
Furthermore, the fires are a manifestation of rising global temperatures. Heat domes (areas of elevated temperature) and a drought have caused the hot and dry weather which prime forests to be even more flammable. The above-average megatons of carbon and other greenhouse gasses that are released from the fires exacerbate global warming, creating a “positive feedback loop” of endless burning. Although Canadian fire fighting forces have received aid and funding from countries such as the US, Mexico, and France, the fires rage on, and according to experts, will likely continue until Canada receives heavy snow.
The first-hand and second-hand carnage that the Canadian wildfires have wrecked serve as a universal wake-up call that the time to address climate change is now. The easiest way to fight a fire is to put it out before it starts. Until we find a way to effectively fight global warming, the heat will soon become too much for us to handle.
Sources:
https://www.axios.com/2023/09/29/canadas-hellish-wildfire-season-defies-the-calendar
https://cwfis.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/report
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/28/canadian-wildfires-are-causing-the-worst-air-in-the-us.html