Throughout 2023, the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS*) has closely monitored the wildfire situation around the globe, providing accurate data on wildfire intensity and carbon emissions through its Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS). Many regions experienced record-breaking wildfire activity this year – wildfire carbon emissions in Canada were the highest in the CAMS record, which goes back to 2003, while Greece experienced the largest wildfire in the European Union to date. According to CAMS estimates, global wildfires generated approximately 2,170 megatonnes of carbon emissions in 2023, of which the Canadian wildfires accounted for 22%.Let’s take a closer look at wildfire activity around the globe in 2023, region by region.

Canada experienced an extremely high level of wildfire activity in 2023. Starting in early May, when a number of large wildfires developed in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, and continuing into October, Canada’s wildfires this year engulfed around 18 million hectares of land in total. The wildfire season in the country began with a high level of intensity - CAMS FRP data throughout the year between May and October showed daily total intensity to be well above the 2003-2022 mean values, reflected by many reported instances of pyroconvection (strong and deep convection that can sometimes occur within a fire plume and trigger thunderstorms) in Canada for the year.

In June, a significant long-range smoke transport from the Canadian wildfires reached Europe, and July saw large scale wildfires continue across both western and eastern provinces, with the national total estimated emissions well above any previous annual total in the GFASv1.2 dataset. August brought no respite, with wildfires continuing to burn across the country, particularly in the west and northwest, with the Northwest Territories, British Columbia and Alberta bearing the brunt of the wildfire activity. CAMS GFAS data show wildfire emissions in the Northwest Territories in August to be significantly higher than the 20-year average. In the final days of August and the start of September, there was another long-range transport of smoke from the Canadian wildfires across the Atlantic, with smoke resulting in hazy skies across the British Isles, and northwestern, central and southern Europe.

In total, according to GFAS data, Canada’s wildfires generated an estimated 480 million tonnes of carbon emissions this year, equivalent to 1,761 million tonnes of CO2. The fact that this total is almost five-times the average for the past 20 years paints a clear picture of the intensity and extent of this year’s fire season in Canada, the effects of which are still being felt by farmers in Ohio and the USA’s corn belt.

Elsewhere in North America, the Hawai’ian island of Maui experienced some extreme wildfires in August, resulting in the deaths of at least 115 people. Furthermore, high-latitude fires were also detected within the Arctic Circle in Canada and Russia in July and August, with FRP values in the middle of July and throughout most of August significantly higher than the 20-year average. June-August wildfire carbon emissions for the Arctic were the fifth highest in the CAMS record.

While its northern neighbour was experiencing its most severe wildfire season on record, wildfire emissions in the continental USA in 2023 were at their lowest for the past two decades at 26 megatonnes of carbon.

Greece was in the eye of Europe’s wildfire storm this year. Wildfires in Greece developed on 17 July and were widely reported in the media. The July wildfires, which were the worst experienced by the country in 20 years, continued into August. In particular, the Evros region of East Macedonia and Thrace, close to the Turkish border, was severely affected, resulting in tragic loss of life and evacuations.

One forest fire in northern Greece this summer was the largest ever recorded in the EU. According to data from the European Forest Fire Information Service (EFFIS), Greece’s wildfires have resulted in a cumulative burned area since the start of the year of almost 175,000 hectares. Combined wildfire carbon emissions for July and August were the third highest on record, after 2007 and 2021, at just under 2 megatonnes.

Elsewhere, Spain’s first large forest fire of the year started on the border between Aragon and Valencia on 23 March, resulting in the highest wildfire emissions for the month since records began in the CAMS GFAS dataset. Later in the year, a large wildfire developed on the Spanish island of Tenerife on 16 August and spread quickly. Data from CAMS GFAS show high daily total FRP for the Canary Islands for 16-22 August and wildfire carbon emissions for the Canary Islands in August were the highest since 2003. Southwestern Portugal also experienced some large wildfires in the first half of August, with CAMS FRP data for 4-9 August significantly higher than the 20-year average.

Indonesia has had three years of comparatively quiet fire seasons (between August and October). However, under the influence of El Niño, this year the country has been experiencing its driest weather since 2019. This has resulted in the return of fire activity in various regions which, although intense, was still lower than in previous El Niño years. Emissions from wildfires in Sumatera and Kalimantan have led to the deterioration of air quality across the country and the wider region.

The CAMS FRP data for Indonesia as a whole show wildfire activity in August and September to be generally at or below average, while in October FRP values were slightly above average on some days, but average overall for the month. Total estimated wildfire carbon emissions for Indonesia in August-October were are at their highest level since 2019 when the positive Indian Ocean Dipole (the oscillation of sea surface temperatures in the western Indian Ocean) led to drier conditions.

Further north, spring-time fire intensity and emissions in countries across the upper ASEAN region were at or slightly below average for the fire season between January and April. These fires did, however, lead to a corresponding increase in AOD and PM2.5 levels and a deterioration in air quality. CAMS AOD analyses and forecasts show a clear increase across the region, and have good agreement overall with Aeronet measurements, such as shown for Bangkok during the first half of March.

In February, dry weather, high temperatures and strong winds in Chile contributed to an increase in wildfire activity in the country, which resulted in at least 26 people dead and nearly 1,000 injured, with more than 270,000 hectares of territory affected.

CAMS wildfire carbon emissions data for January-February show emissions in Chile of almost 4 megatonnes of carbon, the second highest for these months in the past 20 years. Emissions in the first two months of the year were almost half the level of the record high emissions in 2017, which were due to the devastating fires in January of that year.

In Argentina, wildfire activity in January–February was above average, with correspondingly high carbon emission estimates. In Corrientes region, wildfire activity was above the 20-year average, with wildfire carbon emissions the second highest on record – second only to 2022 when more than 1,000 wildfires ravaged the province.  For the country as a whole, wildfire activity was above average and emissions were the fifth highest on record. In March, the return of heatwave conditions in the middle of the month exacerbated fires, particularly in the Ibera Wetlands in the north of the country.

There was also an increasing number of seasonal fires in the Orinoco Valley (particularly in Venezuela) from mid-March, although total FRP and emissions were slightly below average for the time of year in both Colombia and Venezuela.

In April, CAMS data indicate an increase in seasonal fires in parts of Central America, southeast Mexico and in the Caribbean, with long-range smoke transport reaching North America and the North Atlantic. Throughout March and April, the CAMS data show FRP values fluctuating between below on some days to above average on others, with wildfire carbon emissions generally above average, at just under 15 megatonnes.

GFAS data show increased FRP and emissions well above average values for the time of year for southern Brazil (especially Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul), with reported episodes of pyroconvection. November wildfire carbon emissions for Brazil were above average and the highest for the month since 2007. This follows four months when, with the exception of some individual days with above-average activity, FRP values and carbon emissions for Brazil have been generally below average. Similarly in Bolivia, FRP values were generally below average throughout August and September (with the exception of a handful of days), but this changed in October and November, with FRP values significantly above average across the two months. November has seen some fires much later in the year than usual for the Amazon region, particularly in Bolivia and southern states of Brazil, related to ongoing drought conditions in the Pantanal wetlands between Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay.

The estimated carbon emissions from Bolivia’s wildfires are correspondingly high. At just around 30 megatonnes in October-November, they are the highest for both months in the CAMS fire emissions dataset. However, the number of fires and the level of emissions fell sharply after 19 November, due to increased rainfall across the region. Total November carbon emissions for South America as a whole are likewise the highest in the CAMS record.

Following average FRP values throughout most of August and September, large areas of northern Australia, particularly in the tropics, experienced increasingly large-scale seasonal bushfires throughout October and into November, with daily total FRP values significantly above the 20-year average in Western Australia and Northern Territory. Since the start of August, FRP values in Queensland have fluctuated between below average on some days to above average on others, with a surge in wildfire activity pushing values significantly above average in the second half of October. Estimated carbon emissions for the country as a whole in September-November are the highest since 2012 at just over 150 megatonnes.

Several other fires have been burning in New South Wales and Victoria, where peak fire season is more typically in January-February. The situation in New South Wales has been more or less average for the time of year and FRP since August has been generally around average, with some significantly above average values at the start of November.

Earlier in the year, following heatwave conditions, Western Australia and New South Wales experienced some large bushfires in March. CAMS FRP data for both Western Australia and New South Wales were above average for the month and wildfire carbon emissions were at a 20-year high in both states.

Wildfire activity in Russia this year began in April when CAMS FRP data showed active fires burning in a band stretching from Russia’s Chelyabinsk region across Omsk and Novosibirsk regions to Primorye in the Far East. Kazakhstan and Mongolia also saw significant wildfire activity at the start of April, falling to slightly below average during the month, only to increase in intensity at the start of May.

The CAMS FRP data show that the wildfire activity continued into the first week of May, with major wildfires burning in southern central Russia, along the border with Kazakhstan, and in Amur region further to the east. The data also showed a growing number of active fires in Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District during last days of June and first days of July, when CAMS aerosol optical depth forecasts showed smoke transport towards the Chukchi Sea and European Arctic.

CAMS FRP data for May-August show that wildfire intensity for Russia as a whole fluctuated compared with the 20-year average. In May, Russia’s main wildfire activity was noted in Omsk and Novosibirsk oblasts, while in July the most intense wildfire activity was in the Far Eastern Federal District. Total carbon emissions from wildfires in Russia in 2023 were below the 20-year average. Nevertheless, wildfire emissions continued to impact air quality in the region into August, and Siberian wildfire smoke reached the North Pole for the first time in known history.

Fire season in northern tropical Africa usually peaks in January and this year, CAMS FRP data for January indicate that wildfire activity in the region was slightly below or around average. Reflecting this, wildfire carbon emissions for the month were also around average at just under 60 megatonnes.

The impact of these wildfires was felt far beyond the North African region however, with CAMS analyses and forecasts of AOD and carbon monoxide showing smoke plumes traveling across the Gulf of Guinea and crossing the tropical Atlantic as far as South America.

Later in the year, a number of large wildfires started in northern Algeria on 24 July 2023 spreading rapidly and leading to evacuations and the death of 34 people. CAMS GFAS data shows a clear increase in FRP for Algeria on 24 July reflecting the growth in the number of fires and their intensity.

CAMS provides regular up-to-date information on the location, intensity and estimated emissions of wildfires around the world, as well as tracking smoke transport and composition. To learn more about CAMS monitoring of wildfires and smoke, visit our page on Global fire monitoring.

*CAMS is implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) on behalf of the European Commission