Smoke From 2019-20 Fires In Australia Compares W. Strongest Volcanic Eruptions In Past 25 Years
Smoke cloud pushed into the stratosphere by last summer’s bushfire crisis was three times larger than anything previously recorded globally, according to research by international scientists.
Researchers from Canada’s University of Saskatchewan used Nasa satellite information to measure smoke in the upper atmosphere in the aftermath of pyrocumulonimbus storms (PyroCBs), which are fire-generated thunderstorms. They found the cloud caused by Australia’s bushfires measured 1,000km across, remained intact for three months, travelled 66,000km and “soared to a height of 35km above earth”.
The 2019-20 bushfire crisis was a standout year for PyroCB storms, with 20 such storms recorded, more than any previous Australian fire season. The report from the bushfire royal commission, handed down on Friday, found it was likely there would be an increase in dangerous pyro-convection events for many regions in southern Australia in future fire seasons due to climate change.
PyroCBs create powerful updrafts that push smoke and air into the upper part of the atmosphere, known as the stratosphere. The university researchers found the smoke cloud created by the Australian fires exceeded the previous record created by the 2017 Canadian wildfires and was “on par with the strongest volcanic eruptions in the past 25 years”. “When I saw the satellite measurement of the smoke plume at 35km, it was jaw-dropping. I never would have expected that,” said Adam Bourassa, a professor of physics and the study’s lead author.
EDIT
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/nov/03/smoke-cloud-from-australian-summers-bushfires-three-times-larger-than-anything-previously-recorded
