Theo Dagnaud scans the horizon to ensure that firefighter patrols have left, and he can mark the area as “controlled”. Quebec, Canada.
Fuelled by high temperatures and dry conditions, gigantic summer forest fires swept across Canada in 2023, affecting all 13 provinces and territories, especially northern parts of Quebec. Seasonal summer wildfires are common in Canada, but the record-breaking 2023 fire season began early and ended late, burning nearly three times more land than usual. Although the number of outbreaks was not higher than normal, “megafires” (those exceeding 10,000 hectares) were widespread. In all, an area of 18.4 million hectares was burned (compared with the usual average of 2.1 million hectares). Quebec was especially hard hit, with 5.2 million hectares burned, and some 14,000 people forced to evacuate their homes.
The fires raised awareness of the impact of global heating, and of the irreversible consequences of some human activity. Canada experienced its warmest May to July period in more than 80 years, breaking previous national temperature records by a hefty 0.8°C, according to a Canadian government report. The study argued that wildfire-prone weather conditions in Quebec were 50% more severe because of climate change. Scientists also pointed to the El Niño phenomenon (the periodic warming of surface waters in the Pacific Ocean), and poor forest management, as contributing factors.
According to Copernicus, the European Union's Earth Observation Programme, as heatwaves become more common, in combination with long-standing drought conditions, the likelihood of experiencing unprecedented wildfires such as those in Canada is higher. Exceptional wildfires occurred across the globe in 2023, with Australia, Chile, Mexico, and Indonesia all reporting record-breaking fire seasons, and Greece experiencing the largest fire ever recorded in the European Union.
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