The Jasper National Park fire in Alberta, Canada, has charred over 81,000 acres (as of August 12), destroyed nearly a third of Jasper's structures, and forced the evacuation of over 25,000 people. The blaze produced a "pyrocumulonimbus cloud," a gigantic thunderstorm effect that can form when wildfires get so intense that they produce their own weather.
What's happening?
A pyrocumulonimbus derives its name from the Ancient Greek word pyr, meaning "fire," and cumulonimbus, also known as a thunderhead. A cumulonimbus cloud is a massive cloud with a low base that can stretch 10 miles or more vertically and flatten out at the top into the shape of an anvil. Cumulonimbus clouds produce lightning, thunder, and sometimes hail and even tornadoes.
The Jasper National Park fire produced a pyrocumulonimbus storm (often abbreviated as "pyroCb"). These storm clouds can be particularly challenging to firefighters because they can create weather like intense winds and even deadly fire tornadoes.
According to officials in Jasper, nearly half of the town may have been destroyed, including the family home of Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland. "Almost beyond comprehension," he described the destruction in Jasper, per The New York Times.
Why are pyrocumulonimbus clouds important?
Scientists say our warming world will increase the size, severity, and frequency of wildfires. There isn't much data on pyroCbs yet since the data only goes back nearly a dozen years, according to the Times reporting. While it may be too soon to make a correlation between more pyroCbs and climate change, there may be more future opportunities for wildfires to produce pyroCbs since there will likely be more intense wildfires, the kind needed for these massive storms.
More than 50 pyroCbs were reported through July this year in western North America, according to the Times. That already places 2024 among the top three years of the past 12 years for pyroCbs. Reports of them were rare until fairly recently. 2023 set the record with 169 reported worldwide, and 142 were experienced in Canada alone.
What's being done about the threat of more pyroCbs?
NASA and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory plan to conduct the Pyrocumulonimbus Experiment (PYREX) in 2026 and 2027. The experiment is "aimed at studying the role that pyroCb activity plays in the warming climate system and understanding its physical links to extreme wildfire behavior." It will be an airborne mission focusing on the western U.S. and Canada.
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