Canadian wildfires have surpassed last year’s fire season already and the main output, smoke, is now moving into the United States. The Terra satellite’s image from yesterday (June 10) showed heavy smoke over the U.S. Midwest. Today’s image from Terra shows the smoke moving into the Mid-Atlantic states including Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland. Residents of these areas are on notice that sunsets will be much redder and more orange for the next few days. The reason? The size of the smoke particles is just right for filtering out other colors meaning that red, pink and orange colors can be seen more vividly in the sky. More orange and red sunsets are likely Wednesday evening and at sunrise Thursday morning.
Keep in mind that the smoke released by any type of fire (forest, brush, crop, structure, tires, waste or wood burning) is a mixture of particles and chemicals produced by incomplete burning of carbon-containing materials. All smoke contains carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and particulate matter (PM or soot). The type and amount of particles and chemicals in smoke varies depending on what is burning, how much oxygen is available, and the burn temperature. Exposure to any type of smoke should be avoided if possible, but especially by those with respiratory issues, the elderly, and children.
This natural-color satellite image was collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra satellite on June 10, 2015. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption: NASA/Goddard, Lynn Jenner