Canada's unprecedented wildfire season via Environment Canada
Canada's wildfire season of 2023 has shattered records across the country. Prolonged spells of record-breaking hot, dry weather in many regions from coast to coast fueled over 6,600 wildfires, burning an astonishing 18.5 million hectares of wildland – or nearly 5% of all forest area in Canada. This is an area larger than all of New Brunswick and Newfoundland combined, with nearly nine times the national average of area burned in 2023. British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, and Nova Scotia all saw record-breaking wildfires. These large fires produced thick smoke that impacted the air quality for millions across North America, causing widespread smoky skies and the appearance of purple suns from the Canadian Maritimes to western Europe. The largest single burning day occurred on September 22 in western Canada, when over 700,000 hectares burned. This triggered rare, late-season pyrocumulonimbus clouds in a year that had already seen a record number of these fire-generated thunderstorms over intense wildfires across Canada.
