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Drivers and Impacts of the Record-Breaking 2023 Wildfire Season in Canada

Author

Listed:
  • Piyush Jain

    (Natural Resources Canada)

  • Quinn E. Barber

    (Natural Resources Canada)

  • Stephen W. Taylor

    (Natural Resources Canada)

  • Ellen Whitman

    (Natural Resources Canada)

  • Dante Castellanos Acuna

    (University of Alberta
    Thompson Rivers University)

  • Yan Boulanger

    (1055 du P.E.P.S.)

  • Raphaël D. Chavardès

    (Natural Resources Canada)

  • Jack Chen

    (Environment and Climate Change Canada)

  • Peter Englefield

    (Natural Resources Canada)

  • Mike Flannigan

    (Thompson Rivers University)

  • Martin P. Girardin

    (1055 du P.E.P.S.)

  • Chelene C. Hanes

    (Natural Resources Canada)

  • John Little

    (Natural Resources Canada)

  • Kimberly Morrison

    (Natural Resources Canada)

  • Rob S. Skakun

    (Natural Resources Canada)

  • Dan K. Thompson

    (Natural Resources Canada)

  • Xianli Wang

    (Natural Resources Canada)

  • Marc-André Parisien

    (Natural Resources Canada)

Abstract

The 2023 wildfire season in Canada was unprecedented in its scale and intensity, spanning from mid-April to late October and across much of the forested regions of Canada. Here, we summarize the main causes and impacts of this exceptional season. The record-breaking total area burned (~15 Mha) can be attributed to several environmental factors that converged early in the season: early snowmelt, multiannual drought conditions in western Canada, and the rapid transition to drought in eastern Canada. Anthropogenic climate change enabled sustained extreme fire weather conditions, as the mean May–October temperature over Canada in 2023 was 2.2 °C warmer than the 1991–2020 average. The impacts were profound with more than 200 communities evacuated, millions exposed to hazardous air quality from smoke, and unmatched demands on fire-fighting resources. The 2023 wildfire season in Canada not only set new records, but highlights the increasing challenges posed by wildfires in Canada.

Suggested Citation

  • Piyush Jain & Quinn E. Barber & Stephen W. Taylor & Ellen Whitman & Dante Castellanos Acuna & Yan Boulanger & Raphaël D. Chavardès & Jack Chen & Peter Englefield & Mike Flannigan & Martin P. Girardin , 2024. "Drivers and Impacts of the Record-Breaking 2023 Wildfire Season in Canada," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-51154-7
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-51154-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dexen DZ. Xi & C.B. Dean & Stephen W. Taylor, 2020. "Modeling the duration and size of extended attack wildfires as dependent outcomes," Environmetrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(5), August.
    2. Xianli Wang & Dan Thompson & Ginny Marshall & Cordy Tymstra & Richard Carr & Mike Flannigan, 2015. "Increasing frequency of extreme fire weather in Canada with climate change," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 130(4), pages 573-586, June.
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