Wildfire smoke from Bordeaux reaches Germany at high altitudes

Smoke from extensive wildfires raging near Bordeaux, Spain, has traveled to Germany at high altitudes, researchers have confirmed. Scientists at the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research in Leipzig detected the smoke layers using laser measurements.

The smoke was found at unusually high altitudes, between 10 and 11 kilometers, which the institute noted underscores the massive scale of the fires for European standards. These high-altitude smoke layers could potentially influence the climate, a topic currently under debate among climate scientists.

“

Depending on the composition, chemical aging and their interaction with clouds, the particles can weaken or intensify incoming solar radiation.

Researchers observed the smoke particles over Leipzig during the nights of July 28-30. They traced the air masses back to the fire regions near Bordeaux, where they had been 15 hours prior, and to Spain, 24 hours prior. The soot particles both reflected sunlight and absorbed it, leading to warming of the particles and the atmosphere.

The smoke also contributed to the formation of high ice clouds, which tend to have a warming effect on the climate. This adds to the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from the fires themselves. Atmospheric researchers are currently discussing the extent to which wildfires influence global climate and whether smoke from such events could accelerate global warming.

“

Atmospheric researchers are therefore currently discussing how significant the influence of forest fires on global climate is and whether smoke from forest fires could be an accelerating factor for global warming.