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europeanspaceagency posted a photo:
This Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite image, captured on 11 August 2026, shows extensive wildfire smoke spreading across western Canada and into the northwestern United States. The scene comes amid a severe wildfire situation in British Columbia, where more than 100 active fires were reported in mid-August, with numerous fires classified as out of control. Thousands of people have been evacuated, particularly in the Okanagan region, while smoke has been transported southwards into Washington and Oregon.
The Canadian government has also identified British Columbia as facing the highest and most sustained wildfire risk for the 2026 summer season, amid persistent drought and above-normal temperatures.
See a corresponding Copernicus Sentinel-5P image of the distribution of carbon monoxide also from these fires.
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Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2026), processed by ESA; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
europeanspaceagency posted a photo:
This Copernicus Sentinel-5P image shows the three-day average distribution of atmospheric carbon monoxide from fires across North America between 9 and 11 August 2026, highlighting the extensive impact of recent wildfires in Canada and Siberia.
The graphic consists of two hemispheric views of Earth. The left globe is cantered on the northern hemisphere, with Canada and Russia clearly labelled, while the right globe is cantered on Antarctica and the southern hemisphere. The underlying surface is rendered primarily in shades of grey, allowing the atmospheric carbon monoxide signal to stand out in shades of orange.
The most prominent feature is the broad region of elevated carbon monoxide over Canada and the high northern latitudes. A particularly strong orange–red enhancement is visible across parts of Canada, with additional elongated plumes extending westward and southward. These elevated carbon monoxide concentrations are consistent with the atmospheric signature of emissions from wildfires.
A white square labelled ‘detail’ references an Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2026), processed by ESA; optical image of the fires near Vancouver in Canada from Copernicus Sentinel-2.
In contrast, the southern hemisphere view is dominated by relatively low values of carbon monoxide, shown primarily in grey, with only limited orange enhancements along parts of the outer Antarctic and southern high-latitude regions.
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Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2026), processed by ESA; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
europeanspaceagency posted a photo:
These images show two contrasting views of the countryside around the Serbian capital, Belgrade, captured on 8 August 2026.
The image on the left was captured by Copernicus Sentinel-3, using false-colour data on the near infrared channel of the Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI). The instrument’s red band was used, with red representing the thick vegetation around Belgrade. Sentinel-3’s OLCI is able to image in strips 1270 km wide, enabling it to take a broad view across large regions.
The image on the right was captured by Copernicus Sentinel-2. In contrast to Sentinel-3’s OLCI instrument, the high-resolution multispectral instrument on board Sentinel-2 is able to provide more detail. It images a strip of just 290 km in width, so we can see the burnt area of the Deliblato Sands wildfire just north of the Danube river.
There have been more than 600 wildfires in Serbia in recent days, according to the government’s Head of the Emergency Situations Sector Luka Čaušić.
The Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS) was activated on 2 August (activation number EMSR914) to provide mapping of wildfires reported in Serbia, including the fire at Deliblato Sands. The CEMS Rapid Mapping was requested to delineate the burnt areas and provide data to assess damage.
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Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2026), processed by ESA.