The smoke from the numerous wildfires that have been raging in Canada and has engulfed large parts of North America, causing breathing problems to sensitive groups, is expected to spread across Norway. However, environmental officials confirmed that people there will not be affected by it since there will not be enough smoke particles to cause harm to their health. Using forecast models, the Climate and Environmental Research Institute in Norway has been tracking the movement of the smoke since the beginning of June. The smoke has passed over Iceland and Greenland, and observations in southern Norway have shown an increase in aerosol concentrations. “We may be able to see some haze or smell smoke,” said Nikolaos Evangeliou, senior scientist at the institute, “However, we do not believe that the number of particles in the air here in Norway will be large enough to be harmful to our health.”
Apart from causing respiratory problems, smoke particles can also result in negative impacts on global warming. When smoke and soot settle on snow- and ice-covered surfaces, such as the Greenland ice sheet, the surface gets darker and absorbs more solar radiation, leading to a warming of the atmosphere. “All in all, from the current forecasts, we see that the plume will arrive weak in Europe over the next few days,” said Mr. Evangeliou on Thursday. “However, if these fires continue to emit more smoke every day, then the situation may worsen. Nevertheless, there is a low probability that there will be any serious effects on air quality.
