Canada’s government says it is preparing for another “explosive” wildfire season, for which it is training extra firefighters.
A warmer-than-normal winter has left little snow on the ground and has compounded droughts in several regions.
Last year was by far Canada’s worst for wildfires, with 15 million hectares (37 million acres) of forest burned.
Linking the issue to climate change, a minister warned that this year could prove even more devastating.
The summer was impossible to predict, but wildfires would continue to pose a “significant challenge” for the foreseeable future, said Harjit Sajjan, the minister for emergency preparedness.
At a news conference, Sajjan called attention to “extreme drought conditions” in southern Alberta, British Colombia and Southern Ontario.
He said above-normal temperatures had also caused earlier snow melts, and that heat and dryness nationwide meant that the wildfire season was likely to start sooner.
Globally, last year was the hottest on record – driven by human-caused warnings, but also boosted by a natural weather system called El Niño.
The continuing effects of El Niño mean that 2024 could see even higher temperatures.
Eight firefighters died and some 230,000 people were displaced from their homes during last year’s worst-ever season.
