Air quality sinks to hazardous levels as biggest cloud seen in a generation swamps region after transatlantic journey
Local residents debated whether a massive release of spruce pollen, which accumulated on every surface—including car bonnets, picnic tables and the nearby Kachemak Bay—amounted to a “golden sheen” or a “yellow scum”. The fine dust turned the surface of the sea the colour of butter and left a bright, lemony line on shore that marked the extent of high tide and gave off a sickly sweet smell. This huge release of pollen might be yet another symptom of a rapidly changing environment.
Sakha is now the fourth region in the Far East where a state of emergency is currently in place due to wildfires. The other three are the Zabaykalsky and Amur regions, as well as the republic of Buryatia. Russia’s wildfire season officially began in early March. By mid-April, regions in the Far East recorded nearly twice as many fires as they had during the same period last year, with most blazes caused by human negligence.
Most of the blazes are in a region that saw possibly the hottest-ever temperature above the Arctic Circle this month.
The Kostanai Region declared a state of emergency on Sept. 4 after forest fires burned a record 43,000 hectares (the size of Сarribean Barbados island) and forced an evacuation of 1,841 people.
The fires affecting Moscow are concentrated in the Ryazan region, some 250 kilometers to the south. This is not the first time smog has appeared in Moscow in recent months, with local authorities advising residents to wear masks to protect themselves earlier this month.
For 300 years, glacial runoff was the major water source for Kluane Lake, flowing in by way of the Slims River. But in May 2016, Kluane Lake levels dropped precipitously. The problem was a case of "river piracy" — incredibly rare, and hugely significant. The terminus or end of the Kaskawulsh glacier had receded enough that a glacial lake that fed the Slims River suddenly drained when the glacier outflow found a new direction to a new river.
Officials say a wildfire in Southwest Washington that ballooned Sunday, causing regional air quality issues, may have been started by a firework or firearm.
Severe snow and dust storms hit Mongolia over the weekend and earlier this week. Wind speeds reached 34 meters per second. The storms and blizzard resulted in the death of nine people and a five-year old child in Dundgovi Province. Hundreds of others have gone missing.
Gallery | The forest fires have covered an area larger than Greece and are emitting black smog that harms nearby populations.
Photos of Yugorsk and other cities showed residential buildings fuzzy under a blanket of white smog.
Wildfires in Russia have burned across a combined area the size of Greece so far in 2020, surpassing official estimates threefold. Experts warn that this year’s blazes could become the most destructive in history.
The driest summer in 150 years has turned Yakutia into a tinderbox and seen wildfires tear through the region.
Residents fled toward the waterside as winds pushed an emergency-level wildfire towards their homes. The town was shrouded in darkness from the smoke before turning an unnerving shade of bright red.
Russian weather officials and environmentalists have said climate change is a major factor behind the increase in fires.
Locals blamed a mining company for attempting to hide what they called an 'ecological tragedy.'
Active fires in northeastern Ontario and eastern Manitoba are expected to send smoke across northern Quebec today and Wednesday, Environment Canada said in a special air quality statement posted for each of the region’s 14 communities.
Wildfires across the western United States and Canada have put millions of people under air quality alerts, as thousands of firefighters battle the flames.
This season the birch pollen has been particularly bad. Some people with asthma have had to leave the state. The peak was May 18 when pollen counts were 974 grains per cubic meter.
A haze visible through Southcentral Alaska on Wednesday was caused by smoke from fires burning in Siberia that began flowing into Alaska in early July.
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