EU’s Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service says wildfires burning through thousands of square kilometres of land in eastern and western Canada have released a record 160 million tonnes of carbon, as their smoke just reached Europe.

This year’s wildfire season is the worst on record in Canada, with some 76,000 square kilometres (29,000 square miles) burning across eastern and western Canada.

That’s greater than the combined area burned in 2016, 2019, 2022 and 2022, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

As of June 26, the annual emissions from the fires are now the largest for Canada since satellite monitoring began in 2003, surpassing 2014 at 140 million tonnes.

“The difference is eastern Canada fires driving this growth in the emissions more than just western Canada,” said Copernicus senior scientist Mark Parrington.

Emissions from just Alberta and British Columbia, he said, are far from setting any record.

Scientists are especially concerned about what Canada’s fires are putting into the atmosphere — and the air we breathe.

The carbon they have released is roughly equivalent to Indonesia’s annual carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.

Forests act as a critical sink for planet-warming carbon. It’s estimated that Canada’s northern boreal forest stores more than 200 billion tonnes of carbon — equivalent to several decades worth of global carbon emissions.

But when forests burn, they release some of that carbon into the atmosphere. This speeds up global warming and creates a dangerous feedback loop by creating conditions where forests are more likely to burn.

New Brunswick aircraft drops a mix of water and fire retardant as it passes over the wildfire in Barrington Lake, Nova Scotia, Canada in this image released May 31, 2023. — Reuters

Smoke from the Canadian wildfires blanketed several major urban centres in June, including New York City and Toronto, tinging skies an eerie orange.

Public health authorities issued air quality alerts, urging residents to stay inside. Wildfire smoke is linked to higher rates of heart attacks, strokes, and more visits to emergency rooms for respiratory conditions.

Now, the plume has crossed the North Atlantic.

“Worsening fires in Quebec and Ontario will likely make for hazy skies and deep orange sunsets in Europe this week,” Parrington said.

However, because the smoke is predicted to stay higher in the atmosphere, it’s unlikely surface air quality will be impacted.

With much of Canada still experiencing unusually warm and dry conditions, “there’s still no end in sight”, Parrington said.

Canada’s wildfire season typically peaks in late July or August, with emissions continuing to climb throughout the summer.

The World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) 2023 Economic Impact Research (EIR) today reveals the Greek Travel & Tourism sector is projected to near pre-pandemic levels this year.

The sector is set to contribute €39.2 billion to the Greek economy by the end of 2023, only 4% behind the 2019 pre-pandemic high of €40.8 billion.

WTTC is also forecasting that the sector will create more than 17,000 jobs this year, reaching the 2019 peak of 820,000 employed by Travel & Tourism.

Last year, the Travel & Tourism sector’s GDP contribution grew by nearly two fifths (38.2%) to reach nearly €38 billion, representing 18.5% of the Greek economy.

The sector also created 5,000 more jobs, compared to the previous year, to reach almost 800,000 jobs nationally.

According to the report, the sector has now recovered 82%% of the jobs lost during the pandemic.

Last year also saw the return of international travellers heading to Greece, with the UK (14%), Germany (14%), and Bulgaria (10%) leading as source markets for international arrivals in Greece.

According to the data, in 2022, international visitor spend contributed €19.1 billion to the national economy, representing a year-on-year growth of more than 56%.

Archaeologists in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii have uncovered a painting which depicts what might be the precursor to the Italian pizza.

The flatbread depicted in the 2,000-year-old fresco “may be a distant ancestor of the modern dish”, Italy’s culture ministry said.

But it lacks the classic ingredients to technically be considered a pizza.

The fresco was found in the hall of a house next to a bakery during recent digs at the site in southern Italy.

The discovery was made this year during new excavations of Regio IX in the centre of Pompeii, one of the nine districts that the ancient site is divided into.

The building was partially excavated in the 19th Century before digging recommenced in January this year – nearly 2,000 years on from the volcanic eruption which engulfed the city.

Archaeologists at the Unesco World Heritage park say the newly-uncovered fresco depicting the flatbread, painted next to a wine goblet, may have been eaten with fruits such as pomegranates or dates, or dressed with spices and a type of pesto sauce.

Pompeii director Gabriel Zuchtriegel said it shows the contrast between a “frugal and simple meal” and the “luxury of silver trays”.

“How can we fail to think, in this regard, of pizza, also born as a ‘poor’ dish in southern Italy, which has now conquered the world and is also served in starred restaurants,” he said.

The skeletons of three people were also found near the oven in the working areas of the home in recent weeks, a culture ministry statement added.

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 buried Pompeii in ash, freezing the city and its residents in time. The site has been a rich source for archaeologists since its discovery in the 16th Century.

The site is only about 23km (14 miles) from the city of Naples – the modern-day home of the UNESCO-protected Italian pizza.

About 85,000 people are expected to turn out to one of the UK’s largest county show over the next two days.

The Royal Norfolk Show is under way at the Costessey showground on the edge of Norwich.

Aside from prize-winning animals, choirmaster and broadcaster Gareth Malone will lead 3,000 children from the county in a Virtual Grand Sing.

“It is a celebration of Norfolk over the next two days,” said show director Mark Nicholas.

“Norfolk has been the hotbed of agricultural innovation and revolutions through organisations such as the Norwich Research Park’s plant-based science, but also through the county’s farmers who really need to be put on a pedestal in the course of the show,” he added.

Highlights from this year’s programme include displays by the RAF Falcons parachute team, a motorcycle stunt team and a Shetland Pony derby.

The Princess Royal was last year’s special guest, with this year’s royal visitor yet to be announced.

The agricultural showpiece will feature about 3,000 animals and 700 trade exhibitors.

The UK’s largest opencast coal mine has appealed an order to stop digging for coal at the last minute.

An enforcement notice against the operator of Ffos-y-Fran in Merthyr Tydfil was set to take effect on Tuesday.

It would have given them 28 days to stop mining as planning permission at the site expired in September 2022.

The Welsh government said on Wednesday morning it understood the company was appealing.

A spokesman added that it could not comment further as it may “jeopardise any future decision Welsh ministers may have to make on the matter”.

Mining firm Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd confirmed an appeal had “been lodged with the Welsh ministers” and said it could not comment further while the appeal process was ongoing.

Chris Austin, 67, who lives near the mine, has long campaigned against it as part of the United Valleys Action Group of local residents.

“We are extremely disappointed, and frustrated, to hear that the mining company has appealed the enforcement action,” he said.

“If accepted, the appeal could take 12 months or more to resolve, so we again urge that a ‘stop order’ be put in place whilst this appeal is determined. To us, and surely any reasonable person, this is just common sense.

“The mining company doesn’t have the planning consent required to continue mining coal at Ffos-y-Fran; that is absolute, so why are they being allowed to continue to do so?”

Guidance on the Welsh government’s website suggests once an appeal against an enforcement notice has been submitted a decision would normally be received “within 27 weeks but it can take longer”.

It raises the prospect of a further six months or more of coal mining at the site.

After 15 years, planning permission to mine at Ffos-y-Fran ran out on 6 September 2022 but days before the company asked for more time.

It took until April 2023 for the application to be discussed and refused by Merthyr council’s planning committee.

Mining continued on site in the meantime, with figures suggesting that between 7 September 2022 and 31 March 2023, 199,307 tonnes of coal were produced.

Lawyers acting on behalf of campaign group Coal Action Network have said the situation sets a “terrible precedent” and brings the planning system “into disrepute”.

They have accused the local authority and Welsh government of “maladministration” – arguing that they have potentially acted unlawfully in failing to deal with the matter more urgently and issuing what’s known as a “stop notice”.

Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd has said in the past that it was in discussions with the local authority to ensure “a safe cessation of coaling” at Ffos-y-Fran.

Merthyr council has also been asked to comment on the latest development, but said on Tuesday it had a “contrary legal view” to that of the campaigners’ lawyers.

South Koreans have become a year or two younger as a new law aligns the nation’s two traditional age-counting methods with international standards.

The law scraps one traditional system that deemed South Koreans one year old at birth, counting time in the womb.

Another counted everyone as ageing by a year every first day of January instead of on their birthdays.

The switch to age-counting based on birth date took effect on Wednesday.

President Yoon Suk Yeol pushed strongly for the change when he ran for office last year. The traditional age-counting methods created “unnecessary social and economic costs”, he said.

For instance, disputes have arisen over insurance pay-outs and determining eligibility for government assistance programmes.

Previously, the most widely used calculation method in Korea was the centuries-old “Korean age” system, in which a person turns one at birth and gains a year on 1 January. This means a baby born on 31 December will be two years old the next day.

A separate “counting age” system, that was also traditionally used in the country, considers a person zero at birth and adds a year on 1 January.

This means that, for example, as of 28 June 2023, a person born on 29 June 2003 is 19 under the international system, 20 under the “counting age” system and 21 under the “Korean age” system.

Lawmakers voted to scrap the traditional counting methods last December.

Despite the move, many existing statutes that count a person’s age based on the “counting age” calendar year system will remain. For example, South Koreans can buy cigarettes and alcohol from the year – not the day – they turn 19.

Three in four South Koreans were also in favour of the standardisation, according to a poll by local firm Hankook Research in January 2022.

Some, like Jeongsuk Woo, hope the change will help break down Korea’s hierarchical culture.

“There is a subconscious layer of ageism in people’s behaviour. This is evident even in the complex language system based on age… I hope the abolition of ‘Korean age’ system and the adaptation of the international standard get rid of old relics of the past,” said the 28-year-old content creator.

Another resident Hyun Jeong Byun said: “I love it, because now I’m two years younger. My birthday is in December, so I always felt like this Korean age system is making me socially older than what I actually am.

“Now that Korea is following the global standard, I no longer have to explain my ‘Korean age’ when I go abroad.”

The 31-year-old doctor said South Korea’s medical sector has already been adopting the international age system.

The traditional age-counting methods were also used by other East Asian countries, but most have dropped it.

Japan adopted the international standard in 1950 while North Korea followed suit in the 1980s.

Spotted Lake, sometimes referred to as Kliluk, is a small but very interesting saline endorheic alkali lake which is located between the Okanagan and Simikameen Valleys in the westernmost province of Canada, British Columbia.

Located more precisely in the vicinity of Osoyoos which is the southern-most town in the Okanagan Valley, this significant treasure is richly concentrated with various minerals, more precisely with dense deposits of magnesium sulfate, calcium and sodium sulphates, in addition to the 8 other minerals and lower amounts of silver and titanium.

The most interesting is in summer when the water evaporates and the colorful mineral deposits are revealed like large spots on the ground, thus the name Spotted Lake.

Those are actually the magnesium sifate deposits, and with the remaining minerals in the lake that harden, a natural paths for walking are created around the spots.

With the years, the ground color changes from blue to green to yellow, depending on the mineral makeup of the individual spot.

The Spotted Lake is definitely an important site to Canada’s indigenous people, the First Nations, who revere to it as a sacred site which provides therapeutic waters.

Unfortunately, this was not taken into consideration during World War I when the lake was used for manufacturing ammunition, and later when it came privatized, under the control of the Ernest Smith family.

The First Nations people tried to purchase it back, where throughout the years they tried to convince the family to sell it to them, something that happened in October 2001.

With this “deal”, nowadays First Nations are definitely proud to have the Spotted Lake once again in their possession, who fortunately are protecting it as it is supposed to be protected.

With the access via Highway 3, there is a roadside sign that explains to the visitors the cultural and ecological importance the lake has, as well as how important it is as a traditional medicine for the local Okanagan Sylix people.

That is why, visitors are not allowed to go to the lake’s shores, and it can be viewed from the fence which has been erected for the lake’s protection.

Still, even if one would visit it from a high ground, he/she would certainly start feeling like being on another planet, as the lake’s dots are giving an extraordinary feeling that one is located at that moment in an imaginary world which can only come from some kind of cartoon.