By the Numbers: Feeling the burn

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As Canada’s wildfire season draws to a close, it leaves behind record devastation

Illustration by Krieg Barrie

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70,000 square miles

The estimated area in Canada that wildfires engulfed this year as of Sept. 28, a total roughly the size of North Dakota. The fires have consumed 8½ times more land than is typical during wildfire season.

19

The number of U.S. counties reporting days with “very unhealthy” or “hazardous” air quality for the first time in 2023 due to smoke from the wildfires, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency.

$562 million

The cost of fighting Canada’s wildfires this year, according to a British Columbia Wildlife Service estimate in September.

2 billion

The number of metric tons of carbon dioxide the wildfires released into the atmosphere this year—three times as much as the emissions from Canada’s economic activity—according to Canadian climate researcher Werner Kurz.

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