The forest fires that have been plaguing Canada for weeks have emitted significant amounts of gases and particles into the atmosphere that are transported and dispersed by the winds.
The gases and particles emitted into the atmosphere by the forest fires that have been ravaging Canada for weeks have already reached the Azores this Tuesday, the 13th, although without posing "any threat to human health". They should now reach the territory of the Iberian Peninsula from the next 18th of June, «but in smaller concentrations than in the Azores».
The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) explains that those fires in Canada “have emitted significant amounts of gases and particles into the atmosphere that are transported and dispersed by the winds”.
«A cyclonic circulation, associated with a depression centered northwest of the Azores, will have promoted the large-scale transport of these pollutants, mainly carbon monoxide, along the North Atlantic, having reached the Azores region last Tuesday, 13 June", he adds.
However, "the concentrations of these pollutants are below established legal limits and, therefore, should not represent any threat to human health".
Also according to the IPMA, these pollutants will continue to be transported by said circulation, and should reach the territory of the Iberian Peninsula from next Sunday, June 18th, but in lower concentrations than in the Azores.
On the 8th of June, the Norwegian Institute for Environmental and Climate Research (NILU) confirmed the presence of particles originating from these fires in air samples collected on the previous 7th, at the Birkenes Observatory, in southern Norway.
The IPMA announces that "it will continue to monitor this situation and, if necessary, will update the information".
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