Due to the recent complaints from US representatives about the smoke from Canada's wildfires being pushed toward their part of the globe, one has to wonder — are Canadian wildfires really out of control this year?According to Chris Martz, a meteorologist and policy analyst at CFACT, an environmental lobby group, the amount of area burnt from wildfires has actually decreased globally by 1.39% per year since 2002.This information is based on data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), one of NASA's satellite-based sensors used for Earth and climate monitoring.Martz adds on X the global forest fire burned area rate has changed very little over the years, but has experienced a slight decrease of 0.46% annually since 2002..He adds that according to the Global Wildfire Information System's (GWIS) weekly data which has recorded wildfire burn rates since 2012, "global wildfire burn area is tracking to be the lowest on record this year."This comes in light of Canada being called irresponsible by US representatives for its management of wildfires, especially wildfires in northwestern Ontario, which are blowing smoke towards the US' Midwest and Northeast, affecting cities like Minneapolis, Chicago, and Detroit.US politicians making these statements include President Donald Trump, who has directed his officials to examine whether Canada should face additional tariffs — other than the tariffs announced Monday on a number of Canadian goods — because of the smoke breaching American airspace.There are currently 890 active wildfires in Canada as of Tuesday, with 91 are out of control and 68 under control..Nine of these wildfires began Tuesday, with two of them being reported as human-initiated, five being natural, and two being undetermined.Nearly 200 of these fires are in Ontario, with 140 in the northwestern region of the province and 43 in the northeastern region.Reported by CTV News, many northern Ontario communities are evacuating as officials warn of an increase in wildfire activity and worsening smoke conditions for the foreseeable future.
