The gases and particulates emitted from wildfires in Canada are expected to reach the Iberian Peninsula from Sunday, but without any threat to human health, the IPMA said today.
In a statement on the fires in Canada and the consequences in Portugal, the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and the Atmosphere reports that the wildfires that have been ravaging Canada for weeks have been released into the atmosphere “significant amounts of gases and particles carried and dispersed by the wind”.
According to the IPMA, a cyclonic circulation associated with a depression in the northwestern Azores will have favored the large-scale transport of these pollutants, mainly carbon monoxide, along the North Atlantic Ocean, which arrived in the Azores region last Tuesday.
However, it does state that “the concentrations of these pollutants are below the established legal limits and therefore do not pose a threat to human health”.
The IPMA argues that these pollutants are still being transported and will reach the Iberian Peninsula from Sunday, but in lower concentrations than in the Azores.
The IPMA also recalls that last week the Norwegian Institute for Environmental and Climate Research confirmed the presence of particles from the fires in Canada in air samples collected at the Birkenes Observatory, in southern Norway.
Portugal today sent a joint force of 140 agents to Canada to help fight wildfires that will be raging in the province of Quebec.
Thousands of firefighters from various countries around the world are currently battling the 458 fires active in Canada, with the province of Quebec being the most affected region.
Since the beginning of this year, which is considered unprecedented in terms of wildfires, more than 4.6 million hectares have burned in Canada.
Source: DN
