Smoke from North American wildfires could “enhance” the UK’s sunsets and sunrises in the UK this weekend – before the remnants of a hurricane is set to bring some “unseasonably wet and windy weather”.
Despite plenty of sunshine across southern parts of the UK, skies weren’t as blue as many would have expected on Saturday.
This is because smoke from the wildfires, largely in Canada, travelled thousands of miles thanks to a split jet stream, to the UK.
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The fires have raged across North America this summer, forcing thousands from their homes and stretching emergency services.
Now their impacts are being felt across the Atlantic too, as their smoke has left UK skies “hazy”.
Sky News meteorologist Kirsty McCabe said: “You might have noticed the skies have been rather hazy this weekend, thanks to the jet stream bringing smoke from North America (mainly from Canadian wildfires) all the way across the Atlantic to our shores.
“Luckily because the smoke particles are so high up in our atmosphere they won’t have an impact on our health, but they could enhance our sunsets and sunrises this weekend.”
Ms McCabe said such events were “not unheard of” and last year similar incidents occurred throughout the summer.
“Unfortunately, these events are becoming more common, as climate change is linked to heatwaves and droughts, leading to earlier, longer, and more intense wildfire seasons,” she added.
Some of the worst wildfires have been concentrated in the Canadian Rockies.
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Around 25,000 people fled the town of Jasper and its national park last month as wildfires inched closer.
A record number of wildfires last year forced more than 235,000 people to flee their homes across Canada, and sent thick smoke into parts of the US, leading to hazy skies and health advisories.
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Hurricane Ernesto
Meanwhile, weather across the UK next week is due to be impacted by a North American weather system – the remnants of Hurricane Ernesto.
Hurricane Ernesto left hundreds of thousands of people in Puerto Rico without water or power this week.
As the jet stream joins together again, it’s set to bring the remains of Hurricane Ernesto eastwards.
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Ms McCabe said: “It’s not just wildfire smoke that the jet stream can bring from North America.
“Hurricane Ernesto, which crossed Bermuda as a category 1 hurricane on Saturday morning, is set to transition into an extra-tropical system next week.
“The remains of the ex-hurricane are then likely to head to the UK as part of a complex low-pressure system.
“There is a lot of uncertainty on the exact track and timings, but it looks likely that some unseasonably wet and windy weather will be heading our way later on Wednesday into Thursday.”
