The intensity of wildfires in Turkey has reached new records, causing massive levels of air pollution, according to the latest release from Copernicus, the European Union’s flagship Earth observation programme.
The Mediterranean region has evolved into a wildfire hotspot, according to Copernicus that is observing the wildfire activities in the eastern Mediterranean region. In Turkey and southern Italy, data shows the emissions and intensity of wildfires are rapidly increasing. Neighboring countries like Morocco, Albania, Greece, North Macedonia and Lebanon are also affected since the end of July.
“We are closely monitoring the intensity of fires in Turkey and around the Mediterranean area and the impacts they are having on the atmosphere,” said Mark Parrington, senior scientist and wildfire expert at the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service. “It is especially important to closely watch these high intensity fires as the smoke they emit can have impacts on air quality locally and downwind. Our data provides near-real-time information on the intensity of the fires and the wider scale impacts, like the effects of their smoke emissions and their impact on air quality.”
Some of these fires are burning close to coastal resorts and have led to evacuations. Smoke plumes from the fires are clearly visible in satellite imagery crossing the Eastern Mediterranean Basin from southern Turkey
Heat wave conditions have worsened fires
Scientists report that the wildfires are emitting large amounts of smoke pollution into the atmosphere. Forecasts for Aerosol Optical Depth, which is the measure of the suspension of fine solid particles or liquid droplets in air, and surface PM2.5 concentrations, fine particles that are several times smaller than the width of a human hair, show high values in Turkey and over the Eastern Mediterranean area. This reflects the severe magnitude of the fires, Copernicus said.
The Global ECMWF Fire Forecast (GEFF) system provides inputs for the Fire Danger Forecast of the Copernicus Emergency Service. The European Forest Fire Information System fire danger forecast shows very high to extreme values for southeast Europe.
With Southeast Europe currently also experiencing heatwave conditions, the fire danger remains high in the area, especially across much of Turkey and around the Mediterranean. This is not unusual for this time of the year, however, the heatwaves in the areas provide the perfect grounds for fires to spread in case of ignition. Fires also need ignition, which cannot be explained by the hot and dry conditions alone, but rather a combination of several factors including human action, according to Copernicus.
Record sunshine first, now wildfires
In 2020, Europe received the largest sunshine hours since satellite records began in 1983 – a sign of rapidly changing climate on the continent. In July this year historic downpour caused floods in Western Europe, killing around 200 people and damaging homes and businesses.
Scientists have long warned that in a drier, hotter world, weather extremes would be more common, leading to huge damages. While developing countries and small island nations have been worst-hit by the impact of extreme weather events linked to climate change, in recent years developed nations have also been consistently weathering the impacts.
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