Dataset Information

Drivers and Impacts of the Record-Breaking 2023 Wildfire Season in Canada.

ABSTRACT: The 2023 wildfire season in Canada was unprecedented in its scale and intensity, spanning from mid-April to late October and across much of the forested regions of Canada. Here, we summarize the main causes and impacts of this exceptional season. The record-breaking total area burned (~15 Mha) can be attributed to several environmental factors that converged early in the season: early snowmelt, multiannual drought conditions in western Canada, and the rapid transition to drought in eastern Canada. Anthropogenic climate change enabled sustained extreme fire weather conditions, as the mean May-October temperature over Canada in 2023 was 2.2 °C warmer than the 1991-2020 average. The impacts were profound with more than 200 communities evacuated, millions exposed to hazardous air quality from smoke, and unmatched demands on fire-fighting resources. The 2023 wildfire season in Canada not only set new records, but highlights the increasing challenges posed by wildfires in Canada.

SUBMITTER: Jain P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11335882 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Drivers and Impacts of the Record-Breaking 2023 Wildfire Season in Canada.

Jain Piyush P Barber Quinn E QE Taylor Stephen W SW Whitman Ellen E Castellanos Acuna Dante D Boulanger Yan Y Chavardès Raphaël D RD Chen Jack J Englefield Peter P Flannigan Mike M Girardin Martin P MP Hanes Chelene C CC Little John J Morrison Kimberly K Skakun Rob S RS Thompson Dan K DK Wang Xianli X Parisien Marc-André MA

Nature communications 20240820 1

The 2023 wildfire season in Canada was unprecedented in its scale and intensity, spanning from mid-April to late October and across much of the forested regions of Canada. Here, we summarize the main causes and impacts of this exceptional season. The record-breaking total area burned (~15 Mha) can be attributed to several environmental factors that converged early in the season: early snowmelt, multiannual drought conditions in western Canada, and the rapid transition to drought in eastern Canad ...[more]

PMID: 39164286

Similar Datasets

Project description:ObjectivesTo determine healthcare service utilisation for cardiorespiratory presentations and outpatient salbutamol dispensation associated with 2.5 months of severe, unabating wildfire smoke in Canada's high subarctic.DesignA retrospective cohort study using hospital, clinic, pharmacy and environmental data analysed using Poisson regression.SettingTerritorial referral hospital and clinics in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada.ParticipantsIndividuals from Yellowknife and surrounding communities presenting for care between 2012 and 2015.Main outcome measuresEmergency room (ER) presentations, hospital admissions and clinic visits for cardiorespiratory events, and outpatient salbutamol prescriptions RESULTS: The median 24-hour mean particulate matter (PM2.5) was fivefold higher in the summer of 2014 compared with 2012, 2013 and 2015 (median=30.8 µg/m3), with the mean peaking at 320.3 µg/m3. A 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 was associated with an increase in asthma-related (incidence rate ratio (IRR) (95% CI): 1.11 (1.07, 1.14)) and pneumonia-related ER visits (IRR (95% CI): 1.06 (1.02, 1.10)), as well as an increase in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease hospitalisations (IRR (95% CI): 1.11 (1.02, 1.20). Compared with 2012 and 2013, salbutamol dispensations in 2014 increased by 48%; clinic visits for asthma, pneumonia and cough increased; ER visits for asthma doubled, with the highest rate in females, in adults aged ≥40 years and in Dene people, while pneumonia increased by 57%, with higher rates in males, in individualsaged <40 years and in Inuit people. Cardiac variables were unchanged.ConclusionsSevere wildfires in 2014 resulted in extended poor air quality associated with increases in health resource utilization; some impacts were seen disproportionately among vulnerable populations, such as children and Indigenous individuals. Public health advisories asking people to stay inside were inadequately protective, with compliance possibly impacted by the prolonged exposure. Future research should investigate use of at-home air filtration systems, clean-air shelters and public health messaging which addresses mental health and supports physical activity.

Dataset Information

Drivers and Impacts of the Record-Breaking 2023 Wildfire Season in Canada.

Publications

Drivers and Impacts of the Record-Breaking 2023 Wildfire Season in Canada.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets