Smoke from Canadian Forest Fires Reaches Over Greece

Smoke from the massive forest fires raging in Manitoba, Canada, has been detected high above Greece. Layers of smoke from these fires, which have been burning since early May, were observed in the upper atmosphere over the Eastern Mediterranean and Greece. On May 19 at 2:00 AM, smoke layers were recorded at a height of 10 kilometers above the Geosciences and Climate Change Observatory (PAGGAIA) on the island of Antikythera. A few hours later, at noon, they were again identified at altitudes of 9 and 13 kilometers above Thessaloniki by the Atmospheric Physics Laboratory of AUTH. The fires in Manitoba have destroyed vast forest areas, releasing enormous amounts of smoke that can travel thousands of kilometers within days at such heights. Although it is too high to directly affect our health, the smoke interacts with solar radiation, potentially impacting global climate. Images attached show the smoke layers as recorded by the lidar stations of the PAGGAIA observatory and the Atmospheric Physics Laboratory of AUTH in Thessaloniki. Additional images display the backtrajectories of the smoke and its probable source, calculated using the FLEXPART model of the NOA – ReACT team. The results confirm that the smoke originates from North America, specifically from the region of the large fires in Canada.