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August 12, 2024 - Extreme Heat Fuels Extreme Fire Season
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Western Canada continued to burn in early August 2024 as temperatures soared to record highs in Northwest Territories. Above the Arctic Circle, the town of Little Chicago reached 36.3°C (97.4°F) while, just south of the Circle, Fort Good Hope set an all-time August high temperature record as the high hit 37°C (98.6°F). That was higher than the air temperature in Miami, Florida on the same day, according to The Weather Network.
Along with blazing air temperatures, much of Western Canada is extremely dry. The Weather Network noted that Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, has only received 64 mm (2.5 inches) of rain so far this year. This trend puts them on track for the driest year ever. Currently that title belongs to 2023, when just 139 mm (5.5 inches) of rain fell in the entire year.
On August 8, 2024, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image focused on fires blazing in British Columbia, which is the western-most province of Canada. The Northwest Territories are to the north and smoke blows from multiple active fires (red hotspots) and to the east. Fires are also visible in the state of Washington, United States, which is near the bottom of the image south of Vancouver Island, Canada.
A fact sheet about wildfires appears on the Canadian Climate Institute’s webpage. It clearly states that accelerating climate change, largely from the burning of fossil fuels, makes wildfires bigger, hotter, and more frequent. Canada is worming twice as fast as the global average and is home to more than a quarter of the world’s boreal forests. It experienced its most destructive wildfire season ever in 2023, with fires consuming 16.5 million hectares—more than double the previous record and nearly seven times more than the historical average. The Canadian Climate Institute concludes, “Our research finds that to keep Canadians safe, governments must play both defence and offence—protecting people and ecosystems while accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels to limit further heating”. Additional information about the impact on climate change and fire is available by clicking on the link.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 8/8/2024
Resolutions:
1km (523.8 KB), 500m (1.7 MB), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Western Canada continued to burn in early August 2024 as temperatures soared to record highs in Northwest Territories. Above the Arctic Circle, the town of Little Chicago reached 36.3°C (97.4°F) while, just south of the Circle, Fort Good Hope set an all-time August high temperature record as the high hit 37°C (98.6°F). That was higher than the air temperature in Miami, Florida on the same day, according to The Weather Network.
Along with blazing air temperatures, much of Western Canada is extremely dry. The Weather Network noted that Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, has only received 64 mm (2.5 inches) of rain so far this year. This trend puts them on track for the driest year ever. Currently that title belongs to 2023, when just 139 mm (5.5 inches) of rain fell in the entire year.
On August 8, 2024, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image focused on fires blazing in British Columbia, which is the western-most province of Canada. The Northwest Territories are to the north and smoke blows from multiple active fires (red hotspots) and to the east. Fires are also visible in the state of Washington, United States, which is near the bottom of the image south of Vancouver Island, Canada.
A fact sheet about wildfires appears on the Canadian Climate Institute’s webpage. It clearly states that accelerating climate change, largely from the burning of fossil fuels, makes wildfires bigger, hotter, and more frequent. Canada is worming twice as fast as the global average and is home to more than a quarter of the world’s boreal forests. It experienced its most destructive wildfire season ever in 2023, with fires consuming 16.5 million hectares—more than double the previous record and nearly seven times more than the historical average. The Canadian Climate Institute concludes, “Our research finds that to keep Canadians safe, governments must play both defence and offence—protecting people and ecosystems while accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels to limit further heating”. Additional information about the impact on climate change and fire is available by clicking on the link.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 8/8/2024
Resolutions:
1km (523.8 KB), 500m (1.7 MB), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
