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July 14, 2025 - Heavy Smoke over Canada
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Vast swaths of smoke filled the skies over Canada’s Manitoba and Ontario provinces in mid-July 2025. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image of densely smoky skies on July 10. The tan smoke is so thick that it is difficult to discern where land ends and the blue waters of Hudson Bay begin. Black lines have been overlain on the map to help visualize boundaries hidden under smoke and clouds.
Large fires have burned in Canada’s Manitoba and Ontario provinces since May 2025, but the intensity of activity escalated in July. Manitoba’s wildfire service reported 98 active fires burning on July 8, including 16 that were listed as out of control across the northern, western, and eastern parts of the province. Fewer wildfires were burning in Ontario on that same day, with most located in the northwest. Lightning, drought, heat, and strong winds have contributed to the intensity of the latest fire outbreak.
As of July 9, fires in 2025 had charred 4.8 million hectares across Canada, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center. That’s an area about twice the size of New Jersey and nearly four times the 25-year average. Manitoba accounted for about 1 million hectares of burned area, about 20 times more than at the same point in 2024 and 13 times more than the 25-year average.
NASA’s satellite data are part of a global system of observations that are used to track fire behavior and analyze emerging trends. Among the real-time wildfire monitoring tools that NASA makes available are FIRMS (Fire Information for Resource Management System), the Worldview browser, and the Fire Event Explorer. Data from several NASA missions and projects also contribute to web tools and models relevant to the study of air quality.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 7/10/2025
Resolutions:
1km (822.3 KB), 500m (2.2 MB), 250m (1.7 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Vast swaths of smoke filled the skies over Canada’s Manitoba and Ontario provinces in mid-July 2025. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image of densely smoky skies on July 10. The tan smoke is so thick that it is difficult to discern where land ends and the blue waters of Hudson Bay begin. Black lines have been overlain on the map to help visualize boundaries hidden under smoke and clouds.
Large fires have burned in Canada’s Manitoba and Ontario provinces since May 2025, but the intensity of activity escalated in July. Manitoba’s wildfire service reported 98 active fires burning on July 8, including 16 that were listed as out of control across the northern, western, and eastern parts of the province. Fewer wildfires were burning in Ontario on that same day, with most located in the northwest. Lightning, drought, heat, and strong winds have contributed to the intensity of the latest fire outbreak.
As of July 9, fires in 2025 had charred 4.8 million hectares across Canada, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center. That’s an area about twice the size of New Jersey and nearly four times the 25-year average. Manitoba accounted for about 1 million hectares of burned area, about 20 times more than at the same point in 2024 and 13 times more than the 25-year average.
NASA’s satellite data are part of a global system of observations that are used to track fire behavior and analyze emerging trends. Among the real-time wildfire monitoring tools that NASA makes available are FIRMS (Fire Information for Resource Management System), the Worldview browser, and the Fire Event Explorer. Data from several NASA missions and projects also contribute to web tools and models relevant to the study of air quality.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 7/10/2025
Resolutions:
1km (822.3 KB), 500m (2.2 MB), 250m (1.7 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
