Estimating air pollutant emissions from the 2024 wildfires in Canada and the impact on air quality

Abstract

Wildfires are becoming more frequent and destructive and have major implications for continued climate change. They pollute the air hundreds or even thousands of kilometers from where they occur. This study uses ground-based data and satellite monitoring to examine the air quality implications of the wildfires in Canada from May 11–14, 2024. Data from NOAA-20/VIIRS and FIRMS showed that a large smoke plume developed in British Columbia. Fire radiative power (FRP) data showed that intense wildfires sometimes exceeded 4000 Megawatts (MW), consistent with significant pollutant emissions. The most intense wildfires were recorded on the 11th and 13th of May when daily FRP of 108.45 GWh and 220.82 GWh were recorded from 659 and 581 fire points, respectively. Estimated total emissions of CO₂, PM_2.5, CO, CH₄ and NO_x showed that May 13 saw the highest level of pollutant emissions, with CO₂ at 1.7358 Megatons (Mt). Meanwhile, ground-level PM_2.5 concentrations in the area with the most intense fires, on the Alberta border with British Columbia, reached 949 µg/m³. NOAA-20/VIIRS aerosol optical depth (AOD) data showed that on May 11, the maximum AOD of 5 occurred in British Columbia and Alberta, moving eastward by May 12, affecting regions in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario and parts of the US bordering Canada. The results demonstrate that wildfires can release large amounts of pollutants into the atmosphere, significantly affecting air quality. The research highlights the need to establish effective systems for responding to extreme situations associated with these fires and to implement measures to mitigate their negative impacts.