Smoke from a series of forest fires in Canada will reach as far as Belgium, according to forecasts made by the EU’s Copernicus monitoring service.
Quebec has been devastated by 81 large-scale forest fires, 27 of which are burning out of control. The fires have caused havoc across North America, with winds pushing the smoke south over the USA. The smoke made Montreal the most polluted city in the world on Sunday, and now, these fires risk affecting the air quality in Europe.
The smoke clouds are being pushed by a powerful easterly wind, sending them towards Europe. Belgium is set to be affected on Wednesday, according to Copernicus data from the European Centre for Weather Forecasts (ECMWF).
These clouds of smoke contain high concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) gas and fine particulates, which are both dangerous to health. Despite this, the Interregional Environmental Unit (Celine), the body responsible for monitoring air quality in Belgium, says that Belgians have little to worry about.
“These will mainly be high altitude clouds and these will not have a critical impact on the air quality on the ground,” said Phillip Maetz, scientific researcher and spokesperson for Celine.
Related News
- Europe not ready for a scorching summer, EEA warns
- EU prepares to send almost 300 firefighters to Canada
“It is an exception even indeed but we have already experienced the same thing in September 2022 when the fumes from the impressive fires in California had reached Europe. It’s spectacular when you look at the satellite maps, but the impact on air quality is not significant.”
Celine will continue to monitor the air quality above Belgium daily and provide warnings if the fine particulate pollution threshold is exceeded in any region across the country.
