In the throes of Canada’s raging wildfires, a glance at this century’s major blazes paints a troubling picture of a globe marked by climate change.

The 21st century has seen many of these destructive events, with Australia’s 2019-20 season and Russia’s 2021 wildfires scorching immense tracts of land.

The fire seasons of 2009 and 2015, one in Australia and another in Russia, saw an alarming loss of life, unlike most other major fires.

The current Canadian situation, although dwarfed by the Australian and Russian fires at this point in time, parallels the 2014 Northwest Territories fires in its severity, according to data from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center as of June 5.

As both American and Canadian cities choke on smoke, these numbers remind us that the climate crisis is a tangible, immediate threat.