Large enhancements in southern hemisphere satellite-observed trace gases due to the 2019/2020 Australian wildfires

Abstract

The Australian wildfires of the 2019/2020 fire season, colloquially known as the "black summer," represented some of the largest events in recent decades. The fires burned over 110,000 km 2 of bush, forest and parks (BBC, 2020). The majority of the fire activity occurred in south-eastern Australia (New South Wales and Victoria), which is predominantly eucalyptus forest and woodland (SOTE, 2016). The fires caused 33 deaths (BBC, 2020) and killed over approximately 1 billion animals (UoS, 2020). In comparison, the Black

24 h Evolution of an Exceptional HONO Plume Emitted by the Record-Breaking 2019/2020 Australian Wildfire Tracked from Space

“…This historically relevant fire season was active from September 2019 to March 2020 [20]. The concentrations of many tropospheric pollutants were enhanced in the Southern Hemisphere since the early phases of the fire season [21,22]. Furthermore, the intensity of the fires escalated and had a peak in intensity starting from New Year's Eve 2019/2020 to early January 2020 [20].…”