Pillars of smoke were filmed over the areas hit by last summer’s wildfires despite the current long spell of extremely cold weather.

Given the rarity of similar incidents, the whales have attracted a large crowd since Christmas Eve. On Boxing Day, the Coastguard confirmed that patrols have been taking place to ensure the safety of the public in the days since the animals were stranded.

Strong northwesterly winds in the vicinity of Katmai and the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes have picked up loose volcanic ash eruption and carried it to the southeast toward Kodiak Island today. The maximum cloud height is 5,000 ft above sea level. This is not the result of recent volcanic activity and occurs during times of high winds and dry snow-free conditions in the Katmai area.

The lengthy wildfire season follows a record-hot Arctic summer. People living in Yakutsk are waking up to heavy smog brought from the wildfires raging to the west, east and north; struggling to breathe and with head, eye and throat aches.

Strong southerly winds picked up loose ash from a 1912 volcanic eruption, sending an ash cloud about 4,000 feet into the sky.

Russian weather officials and environmentalists have said climate change is a major factor behind the increase in fires.

A haze visible through Southcentral Alaska on Wednesday was caused by smoke from fires burning in Siberia that began flowing into Alaska in early July.

Gallery | The forest fires have covered an area larger than Greece and are emitting black smog that harms nearby populations.

All forest fires have been extinguished in Chukotka, where thousands of hectares of natural areas have been blazing before, according to the region's Department of Natural Resources and Ecology. RIA Novosti, 20.07.2020

Photos of Yugorsk and other cities showed residential buildings fuzzy under a blanket of white smog.

Smoke from wildfires in Siberia drifted to Alaska last year as well, according to the National Weather Service, but Alaska already had hazy skies from local wildfires.

Most of the blazes are in a region that saw possibly the hottest-ever temperature above the Arctic Circle this month.

Saint Lucia’s Ministry of Health has advised citizens to take measures to protect themselves from the ill effects of Saharan dust.

Air quality sinks to hazardous levels as biggest cloud seen in a generation swamps region after transatlantic journey

The dust should suppress Atlantic hurricane activity, at least temporarily.

The yellow tinting in ocean water has been identified by the Tanana Valley Clinic as spruce pollen, but it remains to be seen why the pollen counts are so high this year.

Toxic fuel from 21,000 ton leak reaches pristine lake, bypassing floating booms, as rivers of diesel pollution cover-up is exposed.

Ocean water may be tinted yellow from pollen.

Elevated pollen levels in Anchorage and across Alaska raise questions about changes in respiratory health and the importance of having good air quality during the coronavirus pandemic.

Wildfires in Russia have burned across a combined area the size of Greece so far in 2020, surpassing official estimates threefold. Experts warn that this year’s blazes could become the most destructive in history.