Citation

Simms CD. Lancet Glob. Health 2016; 4(8): e520.

Affiliation

Dalhousie University, Health Services Administration, Halifax, NS B3H 1R2, Canada. Electronic address: christopher.simms@dal.ca.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/S2214-109X(16)30132-2

PMID

27443776

Abstract

On May 1, 2016, a colossal forest fire began to sweep into Fort McMurray, a boomtown centred in the middle of the Alberta oil sands in Canada. Over the ensuing 3 weeks it grew to more than 3000 km2, forced the evacuation of 88 000 residents, destroyed thousands of homes and buildings, and is expected to negatively affect the gross domestic product. The fire is seen by many as another natural disaster linked to climate change, El Niño, and forest fragmentation. Furthermore, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Institute for Space Studies reported that last month was the hottest April on record globally—and the seventh consecutive month to have broken global temperature records.

Language: en