Photo Story: Arctic Wildfires spreading across Alaska and Canada

A handout photo made available by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows a true-color composite image of smoke from Arctic wildfires spreading across Alaska and Canada, captured by both GOES East and GOES West on 23 July 2019 (issued 29 July 2019).

Since June 2019, which was the hottest June on record, there have been more than 100 intense wildfires in the region.

With July currently on track to become the hottest July on record, with heatwaves occurring across Europe and the United States, scientists are bracing for more while describing the conflagrations as ‘unprecedented.’ In picture, the fires are overlaid as yellow-red dots.

 

Photo: EPA-EFE/NOAA HANDOUT