Articles | Volume 25, issue 21
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-14551-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-14551-2025
Research article
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04 Nov 2025
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 04 Nov 2025

Stratospheric impact of the anomalous 2023 Canadian wildfires: the two vertical pathways of smoke

Sergey Khaykin, Slimane Bekki, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Michael D. Fromm, Philippe Goloub, Qiaoyun Hu, Béatrice Josse, Alexandra Laeng, Mehdi Meziane, David A. Peterson, Sophie Pelletier, and Valérie Thouret

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Cited articles

Allen, D. R., Fromm, M. D., Kablick III, G. P., and Nedoluha, G. E.: Smoke with Induced Rotation and Lofting (SWIRL) in the Stratosphere, J. Atmos. Sci., 77, 4297–4316, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-20-0131.1, 2020. 
Allen, D. R., Fromm, M. D., Kablick III, G. P., Nedoluha, G. E., and Peterson, D. A.: Smoke with Induced Rotation and Lofting (SWIRL) generated by the February 2009 Australian Black Saturday PyroCb plume, J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 129, e2023JD040289, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JD040289, 2024. 
Ansmann, A., Baars, H., Chudnovsky, A., Mattis, I., Veselovskii, I., Haarig, M., Seifert, P., Engelmann, R., and Wandinger, U.: Extreme levels of Canadian wildfire smoke in the stratosphere over central Europe on 21–22 August 2017, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11831–11845, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11831-2018, 2018. 
Australian Government: Estimating greenhouse gas emissions from bushfires in Australia's temperate forests: Focus on 2019–20, Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/ estimating-greenhouse-gas-emissions-from-bushfires-in-australias-temperate-forests-focus-on-2019-20.pdf (last access: 29 October 2025), 2020. 
Bechtold, P., Bazile, E., Guichard, F., Mascart, P., and Richard, E.: A mass-flux convection scheme for regional and global models, Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc., 127, 869–886, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.49712757309, 2001. 
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Executive editor
This study is of particular relevance not only to the geoscientific community but also to the broader public and media, as it touches on wildfire resilience, atmospheric health, and climate feedbacks—all central to contemporary environmental discourse. It presents a timely and highly relevant analysis of the stratospheric effects of the record-breaking 2023 Canadian wildfire season—an event of global environmental and public interest. Using a combination of satellite, airborne, and ground-based observations, alongside chemistry-transport model simulations, the study uncovers a surprising and counterintuitive result: despite the extreme scale and intensity of the fires, the vertical reach of smoke into the stratosphere was relatively shallow.
Short summary
In 2023, massive wildfires in Canada injected huge amounts of smoke into the atmosphere. Surprisingly, despite their intensity, the smoke did not rise very high but lingered at flight cruising altitudes, causing widespread pollution. This study shows how two different pathways lifted smoke into the lower stratosphere and reveals new insights into how wildfires affect air quality and climate, challenging what we thought we knew about fire and atmospheric impacts.
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