The Season Of Smoke: How Did This All Happen?

06/30/2023

Here in Ottawa throughout the spring and early summer smoke from wildfires has been extremely heavy.

What’s the reason for it?

Warm and dry conditions are like kindling for wildfires. Much of Canada, like the rest of North America, has experienced record heat and drought recently as climate change continues to warm the planet.

“The fires season is also lasting longer now because of climate change. Spring is coming weeks earlier and fall is coming weeks later. More time for the fires and grasslands to burn,” Edward Struzik, a fellow at Queen’s Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy at Queen’s University in Canada and author of “Dark Days at Noon, The Future of Fire” told CBS News.

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In 2021, Canada experienced its hottest day ever when Lytton, British Columbia hit 49.6 degrees Celsius, 121 degrees Fahrenheit, smashing the previous record of 113 degrees. It tied California’s Death Valley as the hottest place in North America that day.

To read the full story from CBS News, click here.

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