The main purpose of this ongoing blog will be to track planetary extreme, or record temperatures related to climate change. Any reports I see of ETs will be listed below the main topic of the day. I’ll refer to extreme or record temperatures as ETs (not extraterrestrials).😉
Main Topic: Climate Crisis Canadian Wildfires Get Kindled Yet Again
Dear Diary. Back during the summer of 2023 most were shocked at how widespread Canadian wildfires became. We saw images of dense smoke blanketing much of the northern U.S. including New York City where pictures were eye opening. Canadian wildfires were a problem in 2024, but to a lesser extent. Now in late spring 2025 fires have exploded yet again across the 51’st state (just kidding).
Just today smoke advisories have made an appearance across the Upper Midwest:
The culprit for these Canadian fires is obvious dryer and hotter than average spring weather produced by climate change:
A heat dome has been building across Canada for weeks. Here is the state of the thing as of Thursday:
It’s no wonder that fires have exploded across Manitoba looking at the above chart. Speaking of Manitoba:
Here is an updated report from the Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2025/05/29/canada-wildfires-manitoba-flin-flon-emergency
Canada wildfires force 17,000 to evacuate, with smoke blowing toward U.S.
Authorities in Manitoba, which shares a border with the U.S., issued a state of emergency. Winds will likely blow wildfire smoke into Midwestern states.
May 29, 2025
Smoke rises Tuesday from a wildfire in the Manitoba province of Canada. (Manitoba Government/Reuters)
By Victoria Bisset and Ben Noll
Wildfires in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, which share a border with the United States, have prompted provincial authorities to declare a state of emergency and order tens of thousands of people to leave their homes.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said Thursday that the situation is unlikely to improve soon.
“Just looking ahead to the weather forecast, it doesn’t look good,” he said at a news conference in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. “It looks like it is going to further deteriorate. There’s no rain in the forecast. … It’s a very serious situation.”
The evacuation of 17,000 residents is “the largest evacuation Manitoba will have seen in most people’s living memory,” Premier Wab Kinew said during a news conference Wednesday evening.
Fire perimeter estimates. Data as of May 29, 4 a.m. ET. Source: Canadian Wildland Fire Information System (CWIFS)
Winds blowing north to south will likely push wildfire smoke into Midwestern states on Thursday and Friday. Northern Minnesota is at the highest risk for poor air quality Thursday, before a more expansive smoke plume moves southward Friday — with Milwaukee, Chicago and Detroit all potentially seeing a reduction in air quality and/or visibility in the afternoon and evening.
Wildfire smoke is forecast to blow from Manitoba, Canada, into Midwestern states on Thursday and Friday. (Ben Noll/The Washington Post/Data source: NOAA)
Fires in Manitoba have burned 491,000 acres (199,000 hectares) so far this year, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center, a corporation owned by federal and local fire agencies. There are nearly 160 wildfires burning across Canada, the majority of which are “out of control,” the CIFFC said.
A wildfire, seen Tuesday, has prompted a state of emergency and evacuation of Sherridon, Manitoba. (Manitoba Government/Reuters)
Kinew said the military would be involved in the evacuations due to “the sheer scale” of the orders, adding that most of the people affected will go to Winnipeg, the province’s capital.
“This is a moment of fear and uncertainty. This is a moment of concern,” he continued. “But I want to tell you that your fellow Manitobans will welcome you. We will get through this difficult period and we’ll get through this trying period the way that we always do: by working together.”
The state of emergency will initially be in effect for 30 days.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote on X that he and Kinew “are in close contact, and the federal government stands ready to assist Manitoba’s provincial wildfire teams.”
Elsaida Alerta, a resident of Flin Flon, a Manitoba city under a mandatory evacuation order, told CBC Radio that residents could “barely breathe” as they prepared to leave. “The town is absolutely smoked out here. … We’re just kind of in a panic here,” she said.
The Manitoba Wildfire Service said Wednesday that there have been 102 wildfires in the province so far this year, “well above the average for this date of 78 total fires.”
Smoke rises from a wildfire near Wanless in Manitoba on Tuesday. A state of emergency will initially be in effect for 30 days. (Manitoba Government/Reuters)
According to CIFFC, there were 158 active fires across the country by early Thursday, with 83 blazes classified as out of control. The western provinces of British Columbia and Alberta accounted for at least 102 of the fires. At least 1.54 million acres (623,256 hectares) have burned so far this year. Last year, the total area burned was 13 million acres (5.3 million hectares).
Abnormally dry or drought conditions have affected parts of Manitoba that are dealing with wildfires, and no significant rainfall is forecast in the region for at least the next week.
In 2023, Canada experienced its worst wildfire season in modern history, with more than 42 million acres (17.3 million hectares) burned — more than double the previous record. The fires also brought record-breaking air pollution to the United States.
A study published last year found that the frequency and magnitude of extreme wildfires around the globe had doubled since 2003 due to climate change.
By Victoria Bisset Victoria Bisset is a breaking-news reporter for The Washington Post’s London Hub, covering the most urgent and consequential stories as they unfold on the European day.
By Ben Noll Ben Noll is a meteorologist passionate about explaining the why behind the weather, extreme events and climate trends. He has expertise in data analysis, supercomputer-driven graphics and forecasting weather worldwide.follow on X@BenNollWeather
More:
Here are more “ETs” recorded from around the planet the last couple of days, their consequences, and some extreme temperature outlooks, as well as any extreme precipitation reports:
Here is More Climate News from Friday:
(As usual, this will be a fluid post in which more information gets added during the day as it crosses my radar, crediting all who have put it on-line. Items will be archived on this site for posterity. In most instances click on the pictures of each tweet to see each article. The most noteworthy items will be listed first.)