Canada's Wildfires Blow Smoke to Europe as Authorities Warn of Air Quality Hazards

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Wildfires are raging in Canada, forcing more than 26,000 people to evacuate, and continue to spread rapidly on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. Thick smoke choking millions of Canadians and Americans was reported to have blown up to 7,000 kilometers, reaching Europe.

Additional smoke is expected to reach Europe in the coming days as strong winds push the smoke plumes further east towards the continent.

As reported by The Weather Network, according to the European Union's climate monitoring service Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), the first plume of Canadian wildfire smoke entered the Mediterranean region at high altitudes on May 18-19. It was reported that the plume had reached Greece and the eastern Mediterranean.

Subsequently, a much larger quantity of the Canadian wildfire plume crossed the Atlantic Ocean during the last week of May and hit northwestern European regions on Sunday, June 1.

Being at a very high altitude, as reported by CNA, the smoke plume does not pose direct health risks, according to CAMS. However, it is likely to cause hazy skies and reddish-orange sunsets.

Warnings have also been issued for several regions in Canada and the neighboring United States cautioning about hazardous air quality.

Water tanker air bases are ablaze in Saskatchewan, oil production disrupted in Alberta, and officials warn of worse to come with an increasing number of communities threatened each day.

"We have some challenging days ahead of us," Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said at a press conference, adding that the number of evacuees could quickly rise.

Every summer, Canada grapples with wildfires, but the early start and scale of this year's forest fires - burning over two million hectares of land - are alarming.

Saskatchewan and Manitoba provinces are the hardest hit. Both have declared a state of emergency for forest fires in the past few days.

"This has been a very difficult time for many Canadians," federal Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski told reporters in Ottawa.

"This wildfire season has started off more quickly, and it's stronger, more intense," she said.

She added that the Canadian military has deployed aircraft to evacuate remote towns in Manitoba and stands ready to assist Saskatchewan and Alberta in extinguishing the fires.

Climate change has amplified the impact of extreme weather events in Canada, which is still recovering from the devastating summer of 2023 when 15 million hectares of forests were burnt.

As of Tuesday, there are 208 active fires across Canada. Half of them are listed as uncontrolled fires, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

Many affected populations are Indigenous, and some small communities have burned to the ground.

Meanwhile, thick smoke from the fires has blanketed parts of the continent, forcing residents in four Canadian provinces and US states such as Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin to limit outdoor activities.

"Smoke is causing very poor air quality and reduced visibility," said Environment Canada in a statement.

Wildfire smoke consists of gas pollutants such as carbon monoxide, along with water vapor and particulate pollution, which can be extremely hazardous to health.

Canadian authorities have forecast a more intense fire season than usual in central and western Canada, especially due to severe or extreme drought.

Elsewhere, vast wildfires have been raging in the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia since early April, particularly to the east of Lake Baikal, resulting in emissions of around 35 million tons of carbon, as reported by Copernicus.

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