🔥 #wildfires ravaging the U.S. West Coast are sending smoke between continents and up to record heights in the atmosphere. This animation shows the spread of organic carbon since Aug. 13. (Thread - 1/8)
This week the smoke has travelled thousands of miles east, turning skies from New York to Washington D.C. hazy and reaching as far as the skies above Britain. On Sep. 16 a thick plume was over Iceland. (2/8)
At ground level, he blanket of ash and smoke made the region’s air quality among the worst in the world. 📸Downtown Los Angeles on Sept. 10, 2020. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni (3/8)
Smoke from the fires also reached altitudes previously unseen in the U.S. When extreme fires generate enough heat, it is propelled high into the atmosphere creating thunderstorms, known as pyrocumulonimbus. Example: 🛰️ Image from NOAA/RAMMB (4/8)
This happened on Sept. 7, when smoke rose to a height of more than 15km, pushing into the stratosphere. NASA’s CALIPSO satellite happened to pass directly over the smoke that day measuring this cross section of data. (5/8)
The fire-induced clouds essentially can create their own weather systems. The clouds form from the smoke plume, as the fire’s intense heat warms the surrounding air, causing it to rise rapidly, drawing in cooler air. (6/8)
The warm updrafts can pull in so much air that strong winds develop at ground level, fanning the fire further. On rare occasions, these erratic surface winds can swirl into a fire tornado. 📸 Aug. 16, Loyalton Fire, California. Image courtesy Katelynn Hewlett/via REUTERS. (7/8)
To read the full story explaining how #wildfires ravaging the U.S. West Coast are sending #smoke between continents and up to record heights in the atmosphere go here 👉 tmsnrt.rs/2RzMdl9
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