Cloudy skies over Austria: smoke from Canada reaches Europe!

Cloudy skies over Austria: smoke from Canada reaches Europe!

On Whit Monday, June 9, 2025, the sky over Austria and Central Europe will be cloudy. According to 5min.at, this is due to a series of forest fires in Canada, the smoke of which was transported thousands of kilometers across the Atlantic. More than 100 fires have been recorded in the particularly affected southern regions of Canada, such as Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.

The rapidly increasing number of forest fires is favored by exceptional dryness and wind, which promote the formation and spread of the flames. This leads to the evacuation of thousands of people from vulnerable areas.

Smoke from Canada reaches Europe

The aerosols from the Canadian smoke not only crossed the Atlantic, but also reached Europe. The first clouds of smoke moved over the Mediterranean region on May 18th and 19th, followed by a larger cloud that hit northwestern Europe towards the end of May, as Tagesspiegel reported. The EU Earth observation program Copernicus also predicts new clouds of smoke in the coming days.

So far there is no increased health risk in Central Europe because the particles were transported in higher air layers and were greatly diluted. However, there are reports of an increase in aerosols in high mountains above 3000 meters. If visibility is good, you can expect cloudy days and red-orange sunsets resulting from the thick layers of smoke.

Global impact of forest fires

The situation in Canada is not isolated, as there are also significant forest fires in southeastern Russia, particularly in the Republic of Buryatia and the Transbaikalia region. These also produce pyrocumulonimbus clouds that are thrown to great heights by the intense heat and smoke. These developments in forest fires not only lead to localized problems, but also have potential impacts on the global climate by transporting pollutants over long distances.

In summary, recent events show that the forest fires in Canada have consequences not only for the affected regions, but also for large parts of Europe. Spiegel sees this as part of a larger climate and environmental policy issue that may require further attention in the coming months. The third wave of smoke this year could therefore not just be a temporary phenomenon, but rather point to a worsening global challenge.