Here's what Nova Scotia's wildfires look like from outer space

CTV National News: Heavy haze of wildfire smoke Millions of people across Canada and the U.S. are under air quality alerts this weekend. Heather Butts has the details.

Photos taken from International Space Station (ISS) show the immense scale of the wildfires in Nova Scotia.

The ISS photographs released by the NASA show smoke billowing from a fire in close proximity to Shelburne on May 29. By May 31, the fire had spread across an area of 17,000 hectares near the southern tip of Nova Scotia, the most extensive forest fire ever recorded in the province’s history.

The photos show that on May 29, a smaller fire could be seen near Halifax. As of May 31, the fire had engulfed an area of 837 hectares near the heavily populated region.

The province of Nova Scotia says, approximately 16,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes, and 200 homes and other structures have suffered damage due to wildfires.

Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said on Thursday, 211 wildfires had been burning in the country, and 82 of them were out of control.

“It is a simple fact that Canada is experiencing the impacts of climate change, including more frequent and more extreme wildfires,” he explained at a news conference Thursday.

Nearly 1,000 firefighters from the United States, Australia, and New Zealand have joined the operation to aid in firefighting efforts. Additionally, firefighting crews from South Africa are expected to arrive soon.

Reporting for this story was paid for through The Afghan Journalists in Residence Project funded by Meta.