May 30, 2025 – Minener.com
As May comes to a close, unusually high temperatures are sweeping across the Northern Hemisphere, with parts of Canada experiencing weather conditions more typical of July or August. The heatwave is fueling a growing wildfire crisis, prompting mass evacuations and raising global concerns as smoke from the fires threatens to cross the Atlantic and reach Europe.
In Canada, the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan have declared states of emergency amid a rapid escalation of wildfires. Authorities have ordered the evacuation of more than 17,000 residents, with Indigenous communities bearing the brunt of the disaster. In Norway House Cree Nation, located roughly 800 kilometers north of Winnipeg, hundreds of families waited for up to nine hours to board a ferry to safety as flames advanced.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew declared a province-wide emergency on Wednesday night, citing the fast-moving fires. In neighboring Saskatchewan, emergency declarations were also made as northern fires continued to spread. The most intense blaze in the region has already scorched an estimated 300,000 hectares.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has pledged federal assistance, including military support for firefighting and evacuation operations. Yet with 165 active wildfires burning across the country—84 of them classified as “out of control”—the scale of the challenge is staggering.
Meteorological conditions are compounding the threat. Elevated temperatures, low humidity, and mild winds have created a perfect storm for wildfires to ignite and spread. According to Canadian authorities, smoke from the fires is rising between 4 and 7 kilometers into the atmosphere and has begun drifting eastward across the Atlantic.
Experts at weather platform Meteored warn that the smoke plume could reach Spain by Sunday. While the air quality at ground level in Europe is unlikely to be significantly affected, satellite imagery suggests that upper-atmosphere haze could appear over parts of the Iberian Peninsula, and more heavily over the British Isles and Norway. The polar jet stream is expected to steer much of the smoke toward these higher latitudes.
This isn’t the first time North American wildfires have had transatlantic impacts. Similar smoke transport events were recorded in 2023 and 2024. However, current models indicate a smaller concentration of smoke this time around, leading to milder atmospheric effects.
As Canada braces for a long wildfire season, experts are warning that extreme weather events like these are likely to increase in frequency and severity, driven by climate change and its escalating effects on global temperature patterns.
Related:
Canada’s Wildfire Map – Government of Canada European Wildfire Smoke Tracking – Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service Heat and Wildfires: Climate Links – IPCC Reports