Scientific American
Record-breaking blazes in Australia spewed as many particles into the sky as a volcanic eruption
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Satellite view of burned land and and bushfires on Kangaroo Island, Australia on January 9, 2020. Credit: Alamy
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Record-breaking wildfires in Australia at the start of the year caused an extraordinary weather phenomenon. They spawned a spree of towering fire-induced thunderclouds, which catapulted smoke 20 miles into the atmosphere.
Almost 12 months later, some of that smoke is still drifting around the planet.
These “pyrocumulonimbus” events, or “pyroCbs,” are impressive but not uncommon. They form when the heat from a wildfire strengthens currents of rising air in the atmosphere, generating large storm clouds and sending smoke spiraling skyward.