Smoke from Canada fogows southern Germany - does that come from heaven?

Smoke from Canada fogows southern Germany - does that come from heaven?

Munich and other parts of southern Germany are currently suffering from a strange weather phenomenon that significantly affects air quality and view. Many citizens are amazed at the milky, haky sky, which has left a lasting impression over the past few days. But what is behind it? fris reports that the cause is not the feared Sahara dust, but rather smoke from heavy forest fires in Canada.

The German Weather Service (DWD) has now confirmed that the clouds of smoke, which cloud our sky over several hundred kilometers, get to Europe through western wind currents. The situation of meteorologist Susi Lentner received special attention from Geosphere Austria, who stated that "the dust does not come from Sahara dust, but blows from west/northwest". The clouds of smoke that have been over Germany since Whit Monday also extend over parts of France, Switzerland, Austria and Italy and bring new, milky layers with them every day.

effect on the environment

The dramatic effect was particularly evident in Munich: On Tuesday afternoon, the Bavarian capital experienced the highest air pollution of all major cities in Europe, even through Delhi. Such values ​​naturally result in questions about air quality. Even if the DWD explains that at short notice, no major negative effects on the air quality near the ground can be expected, the sight is still worrying. In Tyrol, the distant view suffers from the thick smoke coverage.

How do we observe the situation? Satellite images impressively show how the clouds of smoke have been over the Alpine region since Sunday morning. The EU-Erd observation program Copernicus had already announced last week that the smoke particles from Canada arrived in Europe. Incidentally, we must not forget that many people in the affected Canadian provinces such as Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario had to be loaned, since exceptional drought and wind have favored the emergence of the fires.

Future view

Another problem is that the trendy high pressure can cause the clouds of smoke stay longer than we would like. The DWD assumes that a complete removal of the smoke layer in the Alpine region is not to be expected at short notice. In the coming days, it could even be expected that further clouds of smoke from North America will flock to Europe as long as the forest fires in Canada continue to rage. Wetter.com reported of similar phenomena in other regions, such as Russia, where large forest fires also rage.

The weather will be an issue in the coming days that is worth thinking about. We should actively follow the development and keep in mind which global events can have a direct impact on our everyday life. Perhaps we could develop a kind of new awareness of environmental events that don't just take place locally.