File:Wildfire Smoke Reaches Europe (MODIS).jpg

English: Smoke from wildland fires, which have been burning in the Canadian province of Quebec for weeks, has crossed the Atlantic Ocean and darkened skies in southwestern Europe.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image in the morning (1110 Universal Time) on June 26, 2023. At the time, smoke drifted over northern Portugal and Spain. Plumes of smoke, much of it entrained in high cloud, can be seen over France and the United Kingdom. Smoke also reached northward as far as the Netherlands, which is beyond the scope of this image.

Despite the far-ranging river of smoke, the air quality in the parts of Europe covered by the gray plume on June 26 remained mostly fair, compared to unhealthy and hazardous air quality in the smoke-affected parts of Canada and the United States. That’s because most of the smoke that reached Europe was higher in the atmosphere, where it is less likely to affect human health.

Still, the smoke over Europe will likely be noticed by people. According to the UK Met Office, the smoke aerosols could contribute to vivid sunrises and sunsets.