SeasonMap

Smoke season, month by month around the world

Burning fields or forests; the air, not the weather, is the problem.

This is a warning page, not a recommendation. Smoke season covers 108 destinations on SeasonMap; the months below are the ones in which the risk window is open — most weeks in them pass quietly, and the score beside each place is still the ordinary climate score, hazard and all.

← All seasons · The world's calendar

When it is on

Number of destinations with smoke season on in that month. Windows move a little each year.

Smoke season in January

  1. 🇦🇺 Hobart, AustraliaBushfire season · 1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually)A dry spell in the highlands can put smoke over the Derwent for days and close the walking tracks around the city.96climate
  2. 🇨🇱 Valparaíso, ChileFire season in the hills · 15 Dec – 15 Apr (usually)The ravines behind the port dry out over summer and fires have run through the upper hills more than once, the worst of them destroying whole cerros.94climate
  3. 🇦🇺 Margaret River, AustraliaBushfire and burn-off season · 15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually)Summer brings total fire bans and closed forest tracks, and the autumn prescribed burns put smoke through the valleys on still days.93climate
  4. 🇦🇺 Kangaroo Island, AustraliaFire danger season closures · 15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually)National parks here close on catastrophic fire danger days, which lands squarely in the summer holidays.93climate
  5. 🇦🇺 Melbourne, AustraliaBushfire season · 1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually)The risk in the country around the city peaks after midsummer, and a bad day closes the roads and fills the basin with smoke.86climate
  6. 🇿🇦 Cape Town, South AfricaMountain fire season · 1 Nov – 15 May (usually)The fynbos burns most summers, and a bad day closes hiking paths, the cableway and sometimes a suburb's roads.86climate
  7. 🇦🇺 Sydney, AustraliaBushfire smoke risk · 1 Nov – 28 Feb (usually)Fires inland or on the coast can put smoke over the city for days in a bad summer; the fire service publishes a danger rating for the Sydney region daily.82climate
  8. 🇦🇺 Perth, AustraliaBushfire season · 15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually)Fires in the hills east of the city put smoke over the suburbs on still days and close the walking trails on the worst ones.82climate
  9. 🇦🇷 San Carlos de Bariloche, ArgentinaPatagonian fire season · 1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually)Nahuel Huapi runs a fire risk level through the dry summer and closes trails, campsites and whole valleys when it peaks.80climate
  10. 🇮🇳 Delhi, IndiaSevere air season · 1 Oct – 31 Jan (usually)Emergency pollution restrictions run from 1 October: construction bans, diesel-vehicle limits and schools moved online when it escalates.80climate
  11. 🇦🇺 Katoomba, AustraliaBushfire season · 1 Oct – 1 Mar (usually)The whole town sits inside the national park, so a bad fire week means smoke, closed tracks and, on the worst days, a closed highway.80climate
  12. 🇹🇭 Ayutthaya, ThailandCentral plains burning haze · 20 Jan – 15 Apr (usually)Cane and stubble fires around the central provinces put a flat grey ceiling over the island for weeks.78climate
  13. 🇳🇵 Kathmandu, NepalValley smog season · 15 Nov – 28 Feb (usually)Cold air sits in the bowl of the valley and holds in kiln smoke, vehicle exhaust and field burning from the plains.76climate
  14. 🇹🇭 Bangkok, ThailandUpcountry burning haze · 25 Jan – 15 Apr (usually)Agricultural fires north and west of the city put a lid of smoke over Bangkok through the late dry season.73climate
  15. 🇺🇸 Salt Lake City, United StatesWinter inversion · 15 Dec – 20 Feb (usually)Cold air settles in the valley under a lid of warm air and the exhaust has nowhere to go, sometimes for a fortnight.51climate
  16. 🇰🇿 Almaty, KazakhstanWinter smog · 15 Nov – 1 Mar (usually)Coal heating and a valley inversion pin the smoke over the city for weeks at a time once the cold sets in.39climate
  17. 🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar, MongoliaWinter smog · 1 Nov – 31 MarRaw coal burned in the ger districts for heating, held down over the valley by an inversion, makes this one of the worst urban airs anywhere between November and March.32climate

What's on around the world in January →

Smoke season in February

  1. 🇦🇺 Hobart, AustraliaBushfire season · 1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually)A dry spell in the highlands can put smoke over the Derwent for days and close the walking tracks around the city.95climate
  2. 🇦🇺 Kangaroo Island, AustraliaFire danger season closures · 15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually)National parks here close on catastrophic fire danger days, which lands squarely in the summer holidays.95climate
  3. 🇦🇺 Margaret River, AustraliaBushfire and burn-off season · 15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually)Summer brings total fire bans and closed forest tracks, and the autumn prescribed burns put smoke through the valleys on still days.94climate
  4. 🇨🇱 Valparaíso, ChileFire season in the hills · 15 Dec – 15 Apr (usually)The ravines behind the port dry out over summer and fires have run through the upper hills more than once, the worst of them destroying whole cerros.93climate
  5. 🇦🇺 Melbourne, AustraliaBushfire season · 1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually)The risk in the country around the city peaks after midsummer, and a bad day closes the roads and fills the basin with smoke.92climate
  6. 🇲🇲 Kalaw, MyanmarBurning season haze · 15 Feb – 30 Apr (usually)Hillsides around the town are burned off before the rains and the smoke sits in the valleys below the ridge.90climate
  7. 🇿🇦 Cape Town, South AfricaMountain fire season · 1 Nov – 15 May (usually)The fynbos burns most summers, and a bad day closes hiking paths, the cableway and sometimes a suburb's roads.88climate
  8. 🇲🇲 Inle Lake, MyanmarBurning season haze · 15 Feb – 30 Apr (usually)The Shan uplands are burned off before the rains and the smoke settles into the basin the lake sits in.86climate
  9. 🇳🇵 Kathmandu, NepalValley smog season · 15 Nov – 28 Feb (usually)Cold air sits in the bowl of the valley and holds in kiln smoke, vehicle exhaust and field burning from the plains.85climate
  10. 🇹🇭 Chiang Rai, ThailandBurning season · 1 Feb – 20 Apr (usually)Field and forest fires in the valleys and across the border put Chiang Rai near the top of the world's air-quality charts most Marches.84climate
  11. 🇲🇲 Hsipaw, MyanmarBurning season haze · 15 Feb – 30 Apr (usually)Fields and hillsides across the Shan uplands are burned off before the rains and the smoke sits in the valleys for weeks.84climate
  12. 🇹🇭 Chiang Mai, ThailandBurning season · 1 Feb – 20 Apr (usually)Field and forest fires fill the valley with smoke that the surrounding hills hold in place, and the city regularly tops the world's live pollution rankings in March.82climate
  13. 🇦🇺 Perth, AustraliaBushfire season · 15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually)Fires in the hills east of the city put smoke over the suburbs on still days and close the walking trails on the worst ones.82climate
  14. 🇦🇺 Katoomba, AustraliaBushfire season · 1 Oct – 1 Mar (usually)The whole town sits inside the national park, so a bad fire week means smoke, closed tracks and, on the worst days, a closed highway.82climate
  15. 🇦🇷 San Carlos de Bariloche, ArgentinaPatagonian fire season · 1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually)Nahuel Huapi runs a fire risk level through the dry summer and closes trails, campsites and whole valleys when it peaks.81climate
  16. 🇹🇭 Pai, ThailandBurning season · 1 Feb – 20 Apr (usually)Mae Hong Son province takes the worst of the northern smoke and the valley traps it.81climate
  17. 🇱🇦 Vientiane, LaosBurning season haze · 15 Feb – 30 Apr (usually)Field and forest fires across northern Laos fill the valley with smoke and the far bank of the Mekong disappears for weeks.81climate
  18. 🇱🇦 Pakse, LaosBurning season haze · 15 Feb – 30 Apr (usually)Field clearing across southern Laos and over the Thai border fills the Mekong valley with smoke for weeks, and the view from the plateau edge disappears with it.81climate
  19. 🇦🇺 Sydney, AustraliaBushfire smoke risk · 1 Nov – 28 Feb (usually)Fires inland or on the coast can put smoke over the city for days in a bad summer; the fire service publishes a danger rating for the Sydney region daily.80climate
  20. 🇱🇦 Vang Vieng, LaosBurning season haze · 15 Feb – 25 Apr (usually)The karst towers are the reason to stop here and for these weeks they are outlines in smoke from the fields burning up and down the valley.79climate
  21. 🇲🇵 Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsDry-season brush fires · 1 Feb – 31 May (usually)The grass hillsides above Kagman and out towards Marpi burn most dry seasons, largely from deliberate fires, and the smoke hangs under the trade wind on still mornings.76climate
  22. 🇹🇭 Ayutthaya, ThailandCentral plains burning haze · 20 Jan – 15 Apr (usually)Cane and stubble fires around the central provinces put a flat grey ceiling over the island for weeks.72climate
  23. 🇹🇭 Bangkok, ThailandUpcountry burning haze · 25 Jan – 15 Apr (usually)Agricultural fires north and west of the city put a lid of smoke over Bangkok through the late dry season.69climate
  24. 🇹🇭 Kanchanaburi, ThailandBurning season haze · 1 Feb – 15 Apr (usually)Field and forest fires along the western hills and over the Myanmar border grey out the valley for weeks.69climate
  25. 🇺🇸 Salt Lake City, United StatesWinter inversion · 15 Dec – 20 Feb (usually)Cold air settles in the valley under a lid of warm air and the exhaust has nowhere to go, sometimes for a fortnight.61climate

…and 2 more in February.

What's on around the world in February →

Smoke season in March

  1. 🇦🇺 Kangaroo Island, AustraliaFire danger season closures · 15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually)National parks here close on catastrophic fire danger days, which lands squarely in the summer holidays.97climate
  2. 🇦🇺 Melbourne, AustraliaBushfire season · 1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually)The risk in the country around the city peaks after midsummer, and a bad day closes the roads and fills the basin with smoke.93climate
  3. 🇨🇱 Valparaíso, ChileFire season in the hills · 15 Dec – 15 Apr (usually)The ravines behind the port dry out over summer and fires have run through the upper hills more than once, the worst of them destroying whole cerros.92climate
  4. 🇦🇺 Margaret River, AustraliaBushfire and burn-off season · 15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually)Summer brings total fire bans and closed forest tracks, and the autumn prescribed burns put smoke through the valleys on still days.92climate
  5. 🇲🇽 Mexico City, MexicoOzone alert season · 1 Mar – 31 MayStill, sunny, rainless weeks in the basin cook the traffic exhaust into ozone, and the city declares contingencies that pull cars off the road.90climate
  6. 🇿🇦 Cape Town, South AfricaMountain fire season · 1 Nov – 15 May (usually)The fynbos burns most summers, and a bad day closes hiking paths, the cableway and sometimes a suburb's roads.90climate
  7. 🇦🇺 Hobart, AustraliaBushfire season · 1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually)A dry spell in the highlands can put smoke over the Derwent for days and close the walking tracks around the city.90climate
  8. 🇦🇺 Perth, AustraliaBushfire season · 15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually)Fires in the hills east of the city put smoke over the suburbs on still days and close the walking trails on the worst ones.85climate
  9. 🇲🇲 Kalaw, MyanmarBurning season haze · 15 Feb – 30 Apr (usually)Hillsides around the town are burned off before the rains and the smoke sits in the valleys below the ridge.84climate
  10. 🇨🇳 Jinghong, ChinaBurning season haze · 1 Mar – 20 Apr (usually)Field burning across the border in Myanmar and Laos drifts up the Mekong valley through the last dry weeks.81climate
  11. 🇲🇲 Inle Lake, MyanmarBurning season haze · 15 Feb – 30 Apr (usually)The Shan uplands are burned off before the rains and the smoke settles into the basin the lake sits in.80climate
  12. 🇲🇲 Hsipaw, MyanmarBurning season haze · 15 Feb – 30 Apr (usually)Fields and hillsides across the Shan uplands are burned off before the rains and the smoke sits in the valleys for weeks.76climate
  13. 🇦🇷 San Carlos de Bariloche, ArgentinaPatagonian fire season · 1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually)Nahuel Huapi runs a fire risk level through the dry summer and closes trails, campsites and whole valleys when it peaks.74climate
  14. 🇲🇵 Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsDry-season brush fires · 1 Feb – 31 May (usually)The grass hillsides above Kagman and out towards Marpi burn most dry seasons, largely from deliberate fires, and the smoke hangs under the trade wind on still mornings.74climate
  15. 🇹🇭 Chiang Rai, ThailandBurning season · 1 Feb – 20 Apr (usually)Field and forest fires in the valleys and across the border put Chiang Rai near the top of the world's air-quality charts most Marches.74climate
  16. 🇹🇭 Pai, ThailandBurning season · 1 Feb – 20 Apr (usually)Mae Hong Son province takes the worst of the northern smoke and the valley traps it.72climate
  17. 🇱🇦 Pakse, LaosBurning season haze · 15 Feb – 30 Apr (usually)Field clearing across southern Laos and over the Thai border fills the Mekong valley with smoke for weeks, and the view from the plateau edge disappears with it.72climate
  18. 🇦🇺 Katoomba, AustraliaBushfire season · 1 Oct – 1 Mar (usually)The whole town sits inside the national park, so a bad fire week means smoke, closed tracks and, on the worst days, a closed highway.72climate
  19. 🇰🇷 Gangneung, South KoreaSpring wildfire weeks · 1 Mar – 30 Apr (usually)The east-coast strip burns most springs, when a dry wind comes over the ridge and drives a fire down to the sea in hours.72climate
  20. 🇱🇦 Luang Namtha, LaosBurning season haze · 1 Mar – 25 Apr (usually)Northern Laos burns its fields and hillsides before the rains and this valley holds the smoke.72climate
  21. 🇱🇦 Nong Khiaw, LaosBurning season haze · 1 Mar – 25 Apr (usually)The viewpoints above the river are the entire reason to stop here, and for these weeks they look out on a wall of smoke from the fields burning across northern Laos.72climate
  22. 🇰🇷 Sokcho, South KoreaSpring wildfire season · 1 Mar – 30 Apr (usually)Dry air and the hot downslope wind off the Taebaek range make March and April Gangwon's fire season.71climate
  23. 🇱🇦 Luang Prabang, LaosBurning season haze · 1 Mar – 30 Apr (usually)Agricultural burning across northern Laos and the region fills the valley with smoke for weeks; the hills disappear and flights are occasionally diverted.70climate
  24. 🇱🇦 Vientiane, LaosBurning season haze · 15 Feb – 30 Apr (usually)Field and forest fires across northern Laos fill the valley with smoke and the far bank of the Mekong disappears for weeks.70climate
  25. 🇱🇦 Vang Vieng, LaosBurning season haze · 15 Feb – 25 Apr (usually)The karst towers are the reason to stop here and for these weeks they are outlines in smoke from the fields burning up and down the valley.69climate

…and 6 more in March.

What's on around the world in March →

Smoke season in April

  1. 🇿🇦 Cape Town, South AfricaMountain fire season · 1 Nov – 15 May (usually)The fynbos burns most summers, and a bad day closes hiking paths, the cableway and sometimes a suburb's roads.93climate
  2. 🇦🇺 Perth, AustraliaBushfire season · 15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually)Fires in the hills east of the city put smoke over the suburbs on still days and close the walking trails on the worst ones.92climate
  3. 🇦🇺 Kangaroo Island, AustraliaFire danger season closures · 15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually)National parks here close on catastrophic fire danger days, which lands squarely in the summer holidays.89climate
  4. 🇲🇽 Mexico City, MexicoOzone alert season · 1 Mar – 31 MayStill, sunny, rainless weeks in the basin cook the traffic exhaust into ozone, and the city declares contingencies that pull cars off the road.88climate
  5. 🇨🇱 Valparaíso, ChileFire season in the hills · 15 Dec – 15 Apr (usually)The ravines behind the port dry out over summer and fires have run through the upper hills more than once, the worst of them destroying whole cerros.88climate
  6. 🇦🇺 Margaret River, AustraliaBushfire and burn-off season · 15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually)Summer brings total fire bans and closed forest tracks, and the autumn prescribed burns put smoke through the valleys on still days.85climate
  7. 🇰🇷 Gangneung, South KoreaSpring wildfire weeks · 1 Mar – 30 Apr (usually)The east-coast strip burns most springs, when a dry wind comes over the ridge and drives a fire down to the sea in hours.85climate
  8. 🇰🇷 Sokcho, South KoreaSpring wildfire season · 1 Mar – 30 Apr (usually)Dry air and the hot downslope wind off the Taebaek range make March and April Gangwon's fire season.82climate
  9. 🇲🇲 Kalaw, MyanmarBurning season haze · 15 Feb – 30 Apr (usually)Hillsides around the town are burned off before the rains and the smoke sits in the valleys below the ridge.77climate
  10. 🇲🇵 Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsDry-season brush fires · 1 Feb – 31 May (usually)The grass hillsides above Kagman and out towards Marpi burn most dry seasons, largely from deliberate fires, and the smoke hangs under the trade wind on still mornings.72climate
  11. 🇲🇲 Inle Lake, MyanmarBurning season haze · 15 Feb – 30 Apr (usually)The Shan uplands are burned off before the rains and the smoke settles into the basin the lake sits in.72climate
  12. 🇨🇳 Jinghong, ChinaBurning season haze · 1 Mar – 20 Apr (usually)Field burning across the border in Myanmar and Laos drifts up the Mekong valley through the last dry weeks.68climate
  13. 🇲🇲 Hsipaw, MyanmarBurning season haze · 15 Feb – 30 Apr (usually)Fields and hillsides across the Shan uplands are burned off before the rains and the smoke sits in the valleys for weeks.66climate
  14. 🇱🇦 Pakse, LaosBurning season haze · 15 Feb – 30 Apr (usually)Field clearing across southern Laos and over the Thai border fills the Mekong valley with smoke for weeks, and the view from the plateau edge disappears with it.65climate
  15. 🇹🇭 Pai, ThailandBurning season · 1 Feb – 20 Apr (usually)Mae Hong Son province takes the worst of the northern smoke and the valley traps it.61climate
  16. 🇱🇦 Nong Khiaw, LaosBurning season haze · 1 Mar – 25 Apr (usually)The viewpoints above the river are the entire reason to stop here, and for these weeks they look out on a wall of smoke from the fields burning across northern Laos.61climate
  17. 🇱🇦 Vang Vieng, LaosBurning season haze · 15 Feb – 25 Apr (usually)The karst towers are the reason to stop here and for these weeks they are outlines in smoke from the fields burning up and down the valley.60climate
  18. 🇱🇦 Luang Namtha, LaosBurning season haze · 1 Mar – 25 Apr (usually)Northern Laos burns its fields and hillsides before the rains and this valley holds the smoke.60climate
  19. 🇹🇭 Chiang Rai, ThailandBurning season · 1 Feb – 20 Apr (usually)Field and forest fires in the valleys and across the border put Chiang Rai near the top of the world's air-quality charts most Marches.59climate
  20. 🇱🇦 Luang Prabang, LaosBurning season haze · 1 Mar – 30 Apr (usually)Agricultural burning across northern Laos and the region fills the valley with smoke for weeks; the hills disappear and flights are occasionally diverted.56climate
  21. 🇱🇦 Vientiane, LaosBurning season haze · 15 Feb – 30 Apr (usually)Field and forest fires across northern Laos fill the valley with smoke and the far bank of the Mekong disappears for weeks.56climate
  22. 🇹🇭 Chiang Mai, ThailandBurning season · 1 Feb – 20 Apr (usually)Field and forest fires fill the valley with smoke that the surrounding hills hold in place, and the city regularly tops the world's live pollution rankings in March.54climate
  23. 🇹🇭 Bangkok, ThailandUpcountry burning haze · 25 Jan – 15 Apr (usually)Agricultural fires north and west of the city put a lid of smoke over Bangkok through the late dry season.51climate
  24. 🇹🇭 Ayutthaya, ThailandCentral plains burning haze · 20 Jan – 15 Apr (usually)Cane and stubble fires around the central provinces put a flat grey ceiling over the island for weeks.48climate
  25. 🇹🇭 Kanchanaburi, ThailandBurning season haze · 1 Feb – 15 Apr (usually)Field and forest fires along the western hills and over the Myanmar border grey out the valley for weeks.45climate

What's on around the world in April →

Smoke season in May

  1. 🇿🇦 Knysna, South AfricaBerg wind fire risk · 1 May – 30 Nov (usually)Hot, dry berg winds off the interior are what turn a plantation fire into the kind that burned through the town in June 2017.90climate
  2. 🇺🇸 Flagstaff, United StatesFire restrictions and smoke · 1 May – 10 Jul (usually)The dry weeks before the rains arrive are when the Coconino forest goes to stage restrictions and sometimes shuts entirely — no campfires, and in a bad year no access.86climate
  3. 🇿🇦 Cape Town, South AfricaMountain fire season · 1 Nov – 15 May (usually)The fynbos burns most summers, and a bad day closes hiking paths, the cableway and sometimes a suburb's roads.85climate
  4. 🇲🇽 Mexico City, MexicoOzone alert season · 1 Mar – 31 MayStill, sunny, rainless weeks in the basin cook the traffic exhaust into ozone, and the city declares contingencies that pull cars off the road.84climate
  5. 🇨🇱 Santiago, ChileWinter smog episodes · 1 May – 31 Aug (usually)The valley traps the city's air under an inversion and the authorities declare alert, pre-emergency or emergency days, restricting wood burning and traffic.77climate
  6. 🇲🇵 Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsDry-season brush fires · 1 Feb – 31 May (usually)The grass hillsides above Kagman and out towards Marpi burn most dry seasons, largely from deliberate fires, and the smoke hangs under the trade wind on still mornings.68climate

What's on around the world in May →

Smoke season in June

  1. 🇵🇹 Lagos, PortugalWildfire season inland · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)Monchique burns badly every few summers and the smoke reaches the coast on a north wind.93climate
  2. 🇪🇸 Marbella, SpainFire season in the sierra · 1 Jun – 15 OctAndalusia's declared high-risk fire period.92climate
  3. 🇵🇹 Faro, PortugalWildfire season inland · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)The serra behind the coast burns most summers and the smoke drifts down to the lagoon on the wrong wind.91climate
  4. 🇺🇸 Flagstaff, United StatesFire restrictions and smoke · 1 May – 10 Jul (usually)The dry weeks before the rains arrive are when the Coconino forest goes to stage restrictions and sometimes shuts entirely — no campfires, and in a bad year no access.91climate
  5. 🇵🇹 Évora, PortugalWildfire season · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)The cork and eucalyptus country around the city carries fire risk all summer, and a bad week puts haze over the plain and closes rural roads at short notice.91climate
  6. 🇺🇸 Fairbanks, United StatesInterior wildfire smoke · 10 Jun – 20 Aug (usually)Lightning fires in the boreal interior are left to burn where nothing is threatened, and the smoke settles into the Tanana valley for days.91climate
  7. 🇺🇸 Anchorage, United StatesInterior wildfire smoke · 1 Jun – 15 Aug (usually)In a dry summer the smoke from interior and Susitna valley fires settles over the bowl for days and the mountains vanish.90climate
  8. 🇫🇷 Ajaccio, FranceFire risk and closed massifs · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)The prefecture bans fires and outdoor work across Corse-du-Sud into the end of September, and on severe-risk days it shuts whole forest massifs to walkers and cars at a day's notice.89climate
  9. 🇪🇸 Málaga, SpainWildfire season · 15 Jun – 15 Oct (usually)The Sierra de las Nieves and the hills behind the Costa burn in most bad summers, and a fire inland puts smoke over the coast and closes the mountain roads for a day or two.88climate
  10. 🇵🇹 Albufeira, PortugalWildfire season inland · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)The coast itself rarely burns, but the Monchique and Caldeirao hills behind it do, and a bad week puts smoke over the beaches and closes the back roads.88climate
  11. 🇫🇷 Bonifacio, FranceFire risk and closed massifs · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)The prefecture bans fires and outdoor work across Corse-du-Sud into the end of September, and on severe-risk days closes forest massifs inland, Bavella included, to walkers and cars.88climate
  12. 🇬🇷 Halkidiki, GreeceWildfire season · 15 Jun – 30 SepThe pine forest that runs down to the beaches is what makes this coast and what burns on it.88climate
  13. 🇫🇷 Nice, FranceForest access closures · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)The department grades fire risk daily through the summer and closes the massifs behind the city — the Esterel, the approaches to the Mercantour — to walkers on the worst days, decided the evening before.87climate
  14. 🇺🇸 Denver, United StatesWildfire smoke and ozone · 15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)Smoke from Colorado and out-of-state fires pools against the Front Range in high summer and combines with the city's ozone problem.87climate
  15. 🇮🇹 Cagliari, ItalySardinian fire season · 1 Jun – 15 OctThe regional fire campaign runs through summer and the hills either side of the city carry the risk.86climate
  16. 🇮🇹 Alghero, ItalySardinian fire season · 1 Jun – 15 OctThe regional fire campaign runs all summer and the worst days are the ones when the maestrale is up.86climate
  17. 🇿🇦 Knysna, South AfricaBerg wind fire risk · 1 May – 30 Nov (usually)Hot, dry berg winds off the interior are what turn a plantation fire into the kind that burned through the town in June 2017.86climate
  18. 🇬🇷 Rhodes, GreeceWildfire season · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)The island's interior burns in the worst summers and the 2023 fires emptied the southeast coast for a week.83climate
  19. 🇹🇷 Antalya, TurkeyWildfire season · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)The pine and maquis behind the resort strip burns most summers, and 2021 took the Manavgat hills.82climate
  20. 🇹🇷 Izmir, TurkeyWildfire season · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)Izmir province burns nearly every summer, usually in the pine hills between the city and the peninsula.81climate
  21. 🇬🇷 Kefalonia, GreeceWildfire season · 15 Jun – 30 SepThe fir forest on Mount Ainos and the scrub above the coast road carry real risk in a dry summer, and the national park closes to visitors on high-risk days.81climate
  22. 🇹🇷 Alanya, TurkeyWildfire season · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)The pine slopes behind the town burn in most bad summers, and Manavgat an hour west lost villages in 2021.80climate
  23. 🇺🇸 Mesa Verde National Park, United StatesWildfire season · 1 Jun – 15 Jul (usually)The dry weeks before the monsoon are when the mesa burns; fires have closed the whole park more than once.78climate
  24. 🇨🇱 Santiago, ChileWinter smog episodes · 1 May – 31 Aug (usually)The valley traps the city's air under an inversion and the authorities declare alert, pre-emergency or emergency days, restricting wood burning and traffic.66climate
  25. 🇲🇾 Langkawi, MalaysiaTransboundary haze · 1 Jun – 15 Oct (usually)In dry years smoke from land clearing across the strait drifts over the northwest coast for days at a time, flattening the view from the cable car and pushing the air index into unhealthy numbers.61climate

…and 2 more in June.

What's on around the world in June →

Smoke season in July

  1. 🇨🇦 Vancouver, CanadaWildfire smoke risk · 15 Jul – 15 Sep (usually)Smoke from fires in the interior can settle over the city for days at a time in a bad year, turning the best-weather month into the worst air of the year.97climate
  2. 🇧🇷 Brasília, BrazilDry season and burn-offs · 1 Jul – 30 Sep (usually)By August the met service is issuing low-humidity warnings most days and grass fires round the Distrito Federal put a haze over the plateau.95climate
  3. 🇺🇸 Big Sur, United StatesFire season · 15 Jul – 1 Nov (usually)The Ventana wilderness burns regularly and a bad fire closes the highway, the state parks and the campgrounds at once.94climate
  4. 🇺🇸 Fairbanks, United StatesInterior wildfire smoke · 10 Jun – 20 Aug (usually)Lightning fires in the boreal interior are left to burn where nothing is threatened, and the smoke settles into the Tanana valley for days.94climate
  5. 🇺🇸 Anchorage, United StatesInterior wildfire smoke · 1 Jun – 15 Aug (usually)In a dry summer the smoke from interior and Susitna valley fires settles over the bowl for days and the mountains vanish.93climate
  6. 🇨🇦 Yellowknife, CanadaWildfire smoke · 1 Jul – 31 Aug (usually)Boreal fire season can fill the city with smoke for weeks and has emptied it altogether — the whole population was evacuated in 2023.93climate
  7. 🇵🇹 Lagos, PortugalWildfire season inland · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)Monchique burns badly every few summers and the smoke reaches the coast on a north wind.88climate
  8. 🇵🇹 Portimão, PortugalSerra de Monchique fire season · 1 Jul – 30 SepThe eucalyptus hills behind the coast burn most summers and a bad one puts smoke over the whole bay and closes the road up to Monchique.87climate
  9. 🇵🇹 Faro, PortugalWildfire season inland · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)The serra behind the coast burns most summers and the smoke drifts down to the lagoon on the wrong wind.86climate
  10. 🇪🇸 Marbella, SpainFire season in the sierra · 1 Jun – 15 OctAndalusia's declared high-risk fire period.85climate
  11. 🇿🇦 Knysna, South AfricaBerg wind fire risk · 1 May – 30 Nov (usually)Hot, dry berg winds off the interior are what turn a plantation fire into the kind that burned through the town in June 2017.85climate
  12. 🇺🇸 Bend, United StatesWildfire smoke season · 1 Jul – 20 Sep (usually)Central Oregon's unhealthy-air days have gone from a handful a decade to dozens, and late July through August is when the smoke settles in the basin.85climate
  13. 🇫🇷 Ajaccio, FranceFire risk and closed massifs · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)The prefecture bans fires and outdoor work across Corse-du-Sud into the end of September, and on severe-risk days it shuts whole forest massifs to walkers and cars at a day's notice.84climate
  14. 🇵🇹 Évora, PortugalWildfire season · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)The cork and eucalyptus country around the city carries fire risk all summer, and a bad week puts haze over the plain and closes rural roads at short notice.84climate
  15. 🇺🇸 South Lake Tahoe, United StatesWildfire smoke season · 15 Jul – 30 Sep (usually)Smoke from California fires settles in the basin and stays because the mountains hold it, and a fire reached the edge of town in 2021.83climate
  16. 🇵🇹 Albufeira, PortugalWildfire season inland · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)The coast itself rarely burns, but the Monchique and Caldeirao hills behind it do, and a bad week puts smoke over the beaches and closes the back roads.83climate
  17. 🇺🇸 Flagstaff, United StatesFire restrictions and smoke · 1 May – 10 Jul (usually)The dry weeks before the rains arrive are when the Coconino forest goes to stage restrictions and sometimes shuts entirely — no campfires, and in a bad year no access.83climate
  18. 🇨🇦 Kelowna, CanadaWildfire smoke season · 10 Jul – 15 Sep (usually)The Okanagan is one of the driest, most fire-prone valleys in Canada, and smoke from interior fires — some of them on the hills above the city — can sit in it for a week at a time.83climate
  19. 🇫🇷 Nice, FranceForest access closures · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)The department grades fire risk daily through the summer and closes the massifs behind the city — the Esterel, the approaches to the Mercantour — to walkers on the worst days, decided the evening before.82climate
  20. 🇺🇸 Yosemite National Park, United StatesWildfire smoke · 15 Jul – 30 Sep (usually)Late-summer fires in and around the Sierra fill the valley with smoke that sits between the walls for days.82climate
  21. 🇨🇦 Whistler, CanadaWildfire smoke · 20 Jul – 10 Sep (usually)Smoke from interior British Columbia fires drifts into the valley for days at a time in late summer and flattens the view from the Peak 2 Peak.81climate
  22. 🇪🇸 Málaga, SpainWildfire season · 15 Jun – 15 Oct (usually)The Sierra de las Nieves and the hills behind the Costa burn in most bad summers, and a fire inland puts smoke over the coast and closes the mountain roads for a day or two.81climate
  23. 🇺🇸 Denver, United StatesWildfire smoke and ozone · 15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)Smoke from Colorado and out-of-state fires pools against the Front Range in high summer and combines with the city's ozone problem.81climate
  24. 🇺🇸 Bozeman, United StatesWildfire smoke · 15 Jul – 15 Sep (usually)Late-summer smoke from fires across Montana, Idaho and Canada settles into the valley and can hold for a week.81climate
  25. 🇫🇷 Bonifacio, FranceFire risk and closed massifs · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)The prefecture bans fires and outdoor work across Corse-du-Sud into the end of September, and on severe-risk days closes forest massifs inland, Bavella included, to walkers and cars.81climate

…and 32 more in July.

What's on around the world in July →

Smoke season in August

  1. 🇺🇸 Seattle, United StatesWildfire smoke · 1 Aug – 20 Sep (usually)Late summer smoke from fires in eastern Washington, Oregon or British Columbia settles into the basin and can hold for days.95climate
  2. 🇨🇦 Vancouver, CanadaWildfire smoke risk · 15 Jul – 15 Sep (usually)Smoke from fires in the interior can settle over the city for days at a time in a bad year, turning the best-weather month into the worst air of the year.94climate
  3. 🇺🇸 Big Sur, United StatesFire season · 15 Jul – 1 Nov (usually)The Ventana wilderness burns regularly and a bad fire closes the highway, the state parks and the campgrounds at once.92climate
  4. 🇧🇷 Brasília, BrazilDry season and burn-offs · 1 Jul – 30 Sep (usually)By August the met service is issuing low-humidity warnings most days and grass fires round the Distrito Federal put a haze over the plateau.91climate
  5. 🇺🇸 Napa, United StatesWildfire season · 1 Aug – 31 Oct (usually)Late summer and autumn are when Northern California burns, and 2017 and 2020 both cost the valley part of a vintage.90climate
  6. 🇺🇸 Portland, United StatesWildfire smoke · 1 Aug – 20 Sep (usually)Smoke from Cascade and Gorge fires settles in the Willamette valley for days at a time in late summer, usually on the hottest and otherwise clearest weeks of the year.89climate
  7. 🇺🇸 Bend, United StatesWildfire smoke season · 1 Jul – 20 Sep (usually)Central Oregon's unhealthy-air days have gone from a handful a decade to dozens, and late July through August is when the smoke settles in the basin.88climate
  8. 🇺🇸 South Lake Tahoe, United StatesWildfire smoke season · 15 Jul – 30 Sep (usually)Smoke from California fires settles in the basin and stays because the mountains hold it, and a fire reached the edge of town in 2021.87climate
  9. 🇵🇹 Lagos, PortugalWildfire season inland · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)Monchique burns badly every few summers and the smoke reaches the coast on a north wind.87climate
  10. 🇨🇦 Yellowknife, CanadaWildfire smoke · 1 Jul – 31 Aug (usually)Boreal fire season can fill the city with smoke for weeks and has emptied it altogether — the whole population was evacuated in 2023.87climate
  11. 🇿🇦 Knysna, South AfricaBerg wind fire risk · 1 May – 30 Nov (usually)Hot, dry berg winds off the interior are what turn a plantation fire into the kind that burned through the town in June 2017.87climate
  12. 🇵🇹 Faro, PortugalWildfire season inland · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)The serra behind the coast burns most summers and the smoke drifts down to the lagoon on the wrong wind.85climate
  13. 🇨🇦 Kelowna, CanadaWildfire smoke season · 10 Jul – 15 Sep (usually)The Okanagan is one of the driest, most fire-prone valleys in Canada, and smoke from interior fires — some of them on the hills above the city — can sit in it for a week at a time.85climate
  14. 🇦🇷 Rosario, ArgentinaSmoke off the delta · 15 Jul – 31 Oct (usually)Burning on the wetland islands opposite has put the city under smoke for days at a stretch in dry years, worst when the wind sits in the east.85climate
  15. 🇵🇹 Portimão, PortugalSerra de Monchique fire season · 1 Jul – 30 SepThe eucalyptus hills behind the coast burn most summers and a bad one puts smoke over the whole bay and closes the road up to Monchique.85climate
  16. 🇺🇸 Denver, United StatesWildfire smoke and ozone · 15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)Smoke from Colorado and out-of-state fires pools against the Front Range in high summer and combines with the city's ozone problem.84climate
  17. 🇺🇸 Bozeman, United StatesWildfire smoke · 15 Jul – 15 Sep (usually)Late-summer smoke from fires across Montana, Idaho and Canada settles into the valley and can hold for a week.83climate
  18. 🇺🇸 Anchorage, United StatesInterior wildfire smoke · 1 Jun – 15 Aug (usually)In a dry summer the smoke from interior and Susitna valley fires settles over the bowl for days and the mountains vanish.83climate
  19. 🇫🇷 Ajaccio, FranceFire risk and closed massifs · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)The prefecture bans fires and outdoor work across Corse-du-Sud into the end of September, and on severe-risk days it shuts whole forest massifs to walkers and cars at a day's notice.83climate
  20. 🇵🇹 Évora, PortugalWildfire season · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)The cork and eucalyptus country around the city carries fire risk all summer, and a bad week puts haze over the plain and closes rural roads at short notice.83climate
  21. 🇺🇸 Reno, United StatesWildfire smoke · 1 Jul – 30 Sep (usually)Smoke from fires in the northern Sierra and inland California settles into the Truckee Meadows and can sit for a week, hiding the mountains from downtown.83climate
  22. 🇺🇸 Lassen Volcanic National Park, United StatesWildfire smoke season · 1 Aug – 5 Oct (usually)Northern California's fire season lands squarely on the best walking weeks, and the Dixie Fire burned most of this park in 2021.82climate
  23. 🇪🇸 Marbella, SpainFire season in the sierra · 1 Jun – 15 OctAndalusia's declared high-risk fire period.82climate
  24. 🇺🇸 Fairbanks, United StatesInterior wildfire smoke · 10 Jun – 20 Aug (usually)Lightning fires in the boreal interior are left to burn where nothing is threatened, and the smoke settles into the Tanana valley for days.82climate
  25. 🇫🇷 Nice, FranceForest access closures · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)The department grades fire risk daily through the summer and closes the massifs behind the city — the Esterel, the approaches to the Mercantour — to walkers on the worst days, decided the evening before.81climate

…and 42 more in August.

What's on around the world in August →

Smoke season in September

  1. 🇺🇸 Portland, United StatesWildfire smoke · 1 Aug – 20 Sep (usually)Smoke from Cascade and Gorge fires settles in the Willamette valley for days at a time in late summer, usually on the hottest and otherwise clearest weeks of the year.94climate
  2. 🇺🇸 Boise, United StatesWildfire smoke season · 1 Jul – 20 Sep (usually)Smoke from fires in the Idaho backcountry and from Oregon and California settles into the valley for stretches of days at a time.94climate
  3. 🇨🇦 Kelowna, CanadaWildfire smoke season · 10 Jul – 15 Sep (usually)The Okanagan is one of the driest, most fire-prone valleys in Canada, and smoke from interior fires — some of them on the hills above the city — can sit in it for a week at a time.94climate
  4. 🇺🇸 Santa Barbara, United StatesSundowner wind and fire season · 15 Sep – 15 Dec (usually)Hot dry winds fall down the Santa Ynez range onto the town in the evenings of late autumn, which is when this coast's serious fires have started.93climate
  5. 🇺🇸 Salt Lake City, United StatesWildfire smoke season · 15 Jul – 20 Sep (usually)The same valley that traps winter exhaust traps summer smoke drifting in from the Great Basin and California.92climate
  6. 🇺🇸 Bend, United StatesWildfire smoke season · 1 Jul – 20 Sep (usually)Central Oregon's unhealthy-air days have gone from a handful a decade to dozens, and late July through August is when the smoke settles in the basin.92climate
  7. 🇺🇸 Big Sur, United StatesFire season · 15 Jul – 1 Nov (usually)The Ventana wilderness burns regularly and a bad fire closes the highway, the state parks and the campgrounds at once.91climate
  8. 🇦🇷 Rosario, ArgentinaSmoke off the delta · 15 Jul – 31 Oct (usually)Burning on the wetland islands opposite has put the city under smoke for days at a stretch in dry years, worst when the wind sits in the east.91climate
  9. 🇬🇷 Halkidiki, GreeceWildfire season · 15 Jun – 30 SepThe pine forest that runs down to the beaches is what makes this coast and what burns on it.91climate
  10. 🇺🇸 Reno, United StatesWildfire smoke · 1 Jul – 30 Sep (usually)Smoke from fires in the northern Sierra and inland California settles into the Truckee Meadows and can sit for a week, hiding the mountains from downtown.91climate
  11. 🇺🇸 Denver, United StatesWildfire smoke and ozone · 15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)Smoke from Colorado and out-of-state fires pools against the Front Range in high summer and combines with the city's ozone problem.90climate
  12. 🇺🇸 San Diego, United StatesSanta Ana wind and fire season · 15 Sep – 15 Dec (usually)Offshore winds off the desert bring the hottest days of the San Diego year in autumn and the county's worst fire risk with them.90climate
  13. 🇵🇹 Lagos, PortugalWildfire season inland · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)Monchique burns badly every few summers and the smoke reaches the coast on a north wind.90climate
  14. 🇵🇹 Faro, PortugalWildfire season inland · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)The serra behind the coast burns most summers and the smoke drifts down to the lagoon on the wrong wind.90climate
  15. 🇫🇷 Nice, FranceForest access closures · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)The department grades fire risk daily through the summer and closes the massifs behind the city — the Esterel, the approaches to the Mercantour — to walkers on the worst days, decided the evening before.89climate
  16. 🇺🇸 Seattle, United StatesWildfire smoke · 1 Aug – 20 Sep (usually)Late summer smoke from fires in eastern Washington, Oregon or British Columbia settles into the basin and can hold for days.89climate
  17. 🇵🇹 Portimão, PortugalSerra de Monchique fire season · 1 Jul – 30 SepThe eucalyptus hills behind the coast burn most summers and a bad one puts smoke over the whole bay and closes the road up to Monchique.89climate
  18. 🇵🇹 Évora, PortugalWildfire season · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)The cork and eucalyptus country around the city carries fire risk all summer, and a bad week puts haze over the plain and closes rural roads at short notice.89climate
  19. 🇺🇸 Napa, United StatesWildfire season · 1 Aug – 31 Oct (usually)Late summer and autumn are when Northern California burns, and 2017 and 2020 both cost the valley part of a vintage.88climate
  20. 🇪🇸 Marbella, SpainFire season in the sierra · 1 Jun – 15 OctAndalusia's declared high-risk fire period.88climate
  21. 🇫🇷 Ajaccio, FranceFire risk and closed massifs · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)The prefecture bans fires and outdoor work across Corse-du-Sud into the end of September, and on severe-risk days it shuts whole forest massifs to walkers and cars at a day's notice.88climate
  22. 🇿🇦 Knysna, South AfricaBerg wind fire risk · 1 May – 30 Nov (usually)Hot, dry berg winds off the interior are what turn a plantation fire into the kind that burned through the town in June 2017.88climate
  23. 🇺🇸 Bozeman, United StatesWildfire smoke · 15 Jul – 15 Sep (usually)Late-summer smoke from fires across Montana, Idaho and Canada settles into the valley and can hold for a week.87climate
  24. 🇵🇹 Albufeira, PortugalWildfire season inland · 15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)The coast itself rarely burns, but the Monchique and Caldeirao hills behind it do, and a bad week puts smoke over the beaches and closes the back roads.87climate
  25. 🇺🇸 Sacramento, United StatesWildfire smoke season · 15 Jul – 15 Oct (usually)Smoke from fires in the Sierra and the coast range settles into the valley and stays, because the same still air that traps winter fog traps this.87climate

…and 41 more in September.

What's on around the world in September →

Smoke season in October

  1. 🇺🇸 Santa Barbara, United StatesSundowner wind and fire season · 15 Sep – 15 Dec (usually)Hot dry winds fall down the Santa Ynez range onto the town in the evenings of late autumn, which is when this coast's serious fires have started.96climate
  2. 🇺🇸 San Diego, United StatesSanta Ana wind and fire season · 15 Sep – 15 Dec (usually)Offshore winds off the desert bring the hottest days of the San Diego year in autumn and the county's worst fire risk with them.94climate
  3. 🇮🇹 Cagliari, ItalySardinian fire season · 1 Jun – 15 OctThe regional fire campaign runs through summer and the hills either side of the city carry the risk.92climate
  4. 🇿🇦 Knysna, South AfricaBerg wind fire risk · 1 May – 30 Nov (usually)Hot, dry berg winds off the interior are what turn a plantation fire into the kind that burned through the town in June 2017.92climate
  5. 🇦🇷 Rosario, ArgentinaSmoke off the delta · 15 Jul – 31 Oct (usually)Burning on the wetland islands opposite has put the city under smoke for days at a stretch in dry years, worst when the wind sits in the east.91climate
  6. 🇺🇸 Big Sur, United StatesFire season · 15 Jul – 1 Nov (usually)The Ventana wilderness burns regularly and a bad fire closes the highway, the state parks and the campgrounds at once.90climate
  7. 🇮🇹 Alghero, ItalySardinian fire season · 1 Jun – 15 OctThe regional fire campaign runs all summer and the worst days are the ones when the maestrale is up.90climate
  8. 🇺🇸 Sacramento, United StatesWildfire smoke season · 15 Jul – 15 Oct (usually)Smoke from fires in the Sierra and the coast range settles into the valley and stays, because the same still air that traps winter fog traps this.90climate
  9. 🇺🇸 Los Angeles, United StatesSanta Ana wind and fire season · 15 Sep – 15 Dec (usually)Offshore winds arrive over vegetation that has had no rain since spring, and the fire risk peaks before the first storms.89climate
  10. 🇪🇸 Málaga, SpainWildfire season · 15 Jun – 15 Oct (usually)The Sierra de las Nieves and the hills behind the Costa burn in most bad summers, and a fire inland puts smoke over the coast and closes the mountain roads for a day or two.89climate
  11. 🇪🇸 Marbella, SpainFire season in the sierra · 1 Jun – 15 OctAndalusia's declared high-risk fire period.87climate
  12. 🇺🇸 Napa, United StatesWildfire season · 1 Aug – 31 Oct (usually)Late summer and autumn are when Northern California burns, and 2017 and 2020 both cost the valley part of a vintage.86climate
  13. 🇪🇬 Cairo, EgyptThe black cloud · 1 Oct – 30 Nov (usually)Smoke from rice-straw burning in the Delta gets trapped over Cairo by autumn inversions and sits there for days.79climate
  14. 🇦🇺 Katoomba, AustraliaBushfire season · 1 Oct – 1 Mar (usually)The whole town sits inside the national park, so a bad fire week means smoke, closed tracks and, on the worst days, a closed highway.79climate
  15. 🇮🇳 Amritsar, IndiaStubble-burning smoke · 5 Oct – 25 Nov (usually)Paddy stubble is burned off across the Majha districts in the fortnight between the rice harvest and the wheat sowing, and the smoke sits low over the city for weeks.75climate
  16. 🇮🇳 Delhi, IndiaSevere air season · 1 Oct – 31 Jan (usually)Emergency pollution restrictions run from 1 October: construction bans, diesel-vehicle limits and schools moved online when it escalates.69climate
  17. 🇺🇸 Sequoia National Park, United StatesWildfire smoke season · 15 Jul – 15 Oct (usually)Late summer brings smoke from fires in the Sierra and up out of the Central Valley, and the groves themselves have burned within the last few years.65climate
  18. 🇺🇸 Kings Canyon National Park, United StatesWildfire smoke season · 1 Aug – 5 Oct (usually)Smoke from fires in the Sierra and up the Central Valley fills the canyon and can shut the park outright, as it has more than once.65climate
  19. 🇺🇸 Lassen Volcanic National Park, United StatesWildfire smoke season · 1 Aug – 5 Oct (usually)Northern California's fire season lands squarely on the best walking weeks, and the Dixie Fire burned most of this park in 2021.63climate
  20. 🇧🇷 Manaus, BrazilBurning-season smoke · 15 Aug – 15 Nov (usually)The end of the dry season is when the forest and pasture around the city burn, and the smoke settles over Manaus.60climate
  21. 🇮🇩 Lake Toba, IndonesiaSumatran haze · 15 Jul – 15 Oct (usually)In a dry year, smoke from land clearing further south on the island drifts north and the caldera rim goes flat and grey.57climate
  22. 🇲🇾 Malacca, MalaysiaHaze season · 1 Aug – 15 Oct (usually)Smoke off Sumatra crosses the strait in the drier weeks and the view from the hill goes flat white.55climate
  23. 🇸🇬 Singapore, SingaporeRegional haze risk · 1 Jun – 15 Oct (usually)Fires on Sumatra and Borneo can push smoke over the island for days at a time in some years and not at all in others.52climate
  24. 🇲🇾 Johor Bahru, MalaysiaTransboundary haze · 15 Jul – 15 Oct (usually)Smoke from land clearing in Sumatra and Kalimantan settles over the strait in the drier months, worst in El Nino years.51climate
  25. 🇲🇾 Penang, MalaysiaHaze season · 1 Aug – 15 Oct (usually)In a dry year, smoke from land clearing across the Strait drifts over and the hill and the bridge disappear for days.50climate

…and 5 more in October.

What's on around the world in October →

Smoke season in November

  1. 🇿🇦 Cape Town, South AfricaMountain fire season · 1 Nov – 15 May (usually)The fynbos burns most summers, and a bad day closes hiking paths, the cableway and sometimes a suburb's roads.95climate
  2. 🇳🇵 Kathmandu, NepalValley smog season · 15 Nov – 28 Feb (usually)Cold air sits in the bowl of the valley and holds in kiln smoke, vehicle exhaust and field burning from the plains.92climate
  3. 🇦🇺 Perth, AustraliaBushfire season · 15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually)Fires in the hills east of the city put smoke over the suburbs on still days and close the walking trails on the worst ones.92climate
  4. 🇿🇦 Knysna, South AfricaBerg wind fire risk · 1 May – 30 Nov (usually)Hot, dry berg winds off the interior are what turn a plantation fire into the kind that burned through the town in June 2017.92climate
  5. 🇺🇸 Los Angeles, United StatesSanta Ana wind and fire season · 15 Sep – 15 Dec (usually)Offshore winds arrive over vegetation that has had no rain since spring, and the fire risk peaks before the first storms.91climate
  6. 🇺🇸 San Diego, United StatesSanta Ana wind and fire season · 15 Sep – 15 Dec (usually)Offshore winds off the desert bring the hottest days of the San Diego year in autumn and the county's worst fire risk with them.91climate
  7. 🇦🇺 Kangaroo Island, AustraliaFire danger season closures · 15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually)National parks here close on catastrophic fire danger days, which lands squarely in the summer holidays.91climate
  8. 🇦🇺 Margaret River, AustraliaBushfire and burn-off season · 15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually)Summer brings total fire bans and closed forest tracks, and the autumn prescribed burns put smoke through the valleys on still days.90climate
  9. 🇪🇬 Cairo, EgyptThe black cloud · 1 Oct – 30 Nov (usually)Smoke from rice-straw burning in the Delta gets trapped over Cairo by autumn inversions and sits there for days.88climate
  10. 🇦🇺 Sydney, AustraliaBushfire smoke risk · 1 Nov – 28 Feb (usually)Fires inland or on the coast can put smoke over the city for days in a bad summer; the fire service publishes a danger rating for the Sydney region daily.87climate
  11. 🇮🇳 Amritsar, IndiaStubble-burning smoke · 5 Oct – 25 Nov (usually)Paddy stubble is burned off across the Majha districts in the fortnight between the rice harvest and the wheat sowing, and the smoke sits low over the city for weeks.87climate
  12. 🇺🇸 Santa Barbara, United StatesSundowner wind and fire season · 15 Sep – 15 Dec (usually)Hot dry winds fall down the Santa Ynez range onto the town in the evenings of late autumn, which is when this coast's serious fires have started.87climate
  13. 🇮🇳 Delhi, IndiaSevere air season · 1 Oct – 31 Jan (usually)Emergency pollution restrictions run from 1 October: construction bans, diesel-vehicle limits and schools moved online when it escalates.84climate
  14. 🇺🇸 Big Sur, United StatesFire season · 15 Jul – 1 Nov (usually)The Ventana wilderness burns regularly and a bad fire closes the highway, the state parks and the campgrounds at once.82climate
  15. 🇦🇺 Katoomba, AustraliaBushfire season · 1 Oct – 1 Mar (usually)The whole town sits inside the national park, so a bad fire week means smoke, closed tracks and, on the worst days, a closed highway.80climate
  16. 🇧🇷 Manaus, BrazilBurning-season smoke · 15 Aug – 15 Nov (usually)The end of the dry season is when the forest and pasture around the city burn, and the smoke settles over Manaus.57climate
  17. 🇰🇿 Almaty, KazakhstanWinter smog · 15 Nov – 1 Mar (usually)Coal heating and a valley inversion pin the smoke over the city for weeks at a time once the cold sets in.56climate
  18. 🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar, MongoliaWinter smog · 1 Nov – 31 MarRaw coal burned in the ger districts for heating, held down over the valley by an inversion, makes this one of the worst urban airs anywhere between November and March.40climate

What's on around the world in November →

Smoke season in December

  1. 🇦🇺 Margaret River, AustraliaBushfire and burn-off season · 15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually)Summer brings total fire bans and closed forest tracks, and the autumn prescribed burns put smoke through the valleys on still days.96climate
  2. 🇦🇺 Kangaroo Island, AustraliaFire danger season closures · 15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually)National parks here close on catastrophic fire danger days, which lands squarely in the summer holidays.94climate
  3. 🇦🇺 Melbourne, AustraliaBushfire season · 1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually)The risk in the country around the city peaks after midsummer, and a bad day closes the roads and fills the basin with smoke.92climate
  4. 🇨🇱 Valparaíso, ChileFire season in the hills · 15 Dec – 15 Apr (usually)The ravines behind the port dry out over summer and fires have run through the upper hills more than once, the worst of them destroying whole cerros.92climate
  5. 🇿🇦 Cape Town, South AfricaMountain fire season · 1 Nov – 15 May (usually)The fynbos burns most summers, and a bad day closes hiking paths, the cableway and sometimes a suburb's roads.91climate
  6. 🇦🇺 Hobart, AustraliaBushfire season · 1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually)A dry spell in the highlands can put smoke over the Derwent for days and close the walking tracks around the city.90climate
  7. 🇮🇳 Delhi, IndiaSevere air season · 1 Oct – 31 Jan (usually)Emergency pollution restrictions run from 1 October: construction bans, diesel-vehicle limits and schools moved online when it escalates.88climate
  8. 🇦🇺 Sydney, AustraliaBushfire smoke risk · 1 Nov – 28 Feb (usually)Fires inland or on the coast can put smoke over the city for days in a bad summer; the fire service publishes a danger rating for the Sydney region daily.87climate
  9. 🇦🇺 Perth, AustraliaBushfire season · 15 Nov – 15 Apr (usually)Fires in the hills east of the city put smoke over the suburbs on still days and close the walking trails on the worst ones.87climate
  10. 🇦🇺 Katoomba, AustraliaBushfire season · 1 Oct – 1 Mar (usually)The whole town sits inside the national park, so a bad fire week means smoke, closed tracks and, on the worst days, a closed highway.86climate
  11. 🇺🇸 San Diego, United StatesSanta Ana wind and fire season · 15 Sep – 15 Dec (usually)Offshore winds off the desert bring the hottest days of the San Diego year in autumn and the county's worst fire risk with them.83climate
  12. 🇺🇸 Los Angeles, United StatesSanta Ana wind and fire season · 15 Sep – 15 Dec (usually)Offshore winds arrive over vegetation that has had no rain since spring, and the fire risk peaks before the first storms.81climate
  13. 🇳🇵 Kathmandu, NepalValley smog season · 15 Nov – 28 Feb (usually)Cold air sits in the bowl of the valley and holds in kiln smoke, vehicle exhaust and field burning from the plains.80climate
  14. 🇺🇸 Santa Barbara, United StatesSundowner wind and fire season · 15 Sep – 15 Dec (usually)Hot dry winds fall down the Santa Ynez range onto the town in the evenings of late autumn, which is when this coast's serious fires have started.77climate
  15. 🇦🇷 San Carlos de Bariloche, ArgentinaPatagonian fire season · 1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually)Nahuel Huapi runs a fire risk level through the dry summer and closes trails, campsites and whole valleys when it peaks.76climate
  16. 🇺🇸 Salt Lake City, United StatesWinter inversion · 15 Dec – 20 Feb (usually)Cold air settles in the valley under a lid of warm air and the exhaust has nowhere to go, sometimes for a fortnight.53climate
  17. 🇰🇿 Almaty, KazakhstanWinter smog · 15 Nov – 1 Mar (usually)Coal heating and a valley inversion pin the smoke over the city for weeks at a time once the cold sets in.42climate
  18. 🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar, MongoliaWinter smog · 1 Nov – 31 MarRaw coal burned in the ger districts for heating, held down over the valley by an inversion, makes this one of the worst urban airs anywhere between November and March.29climate

What's on around the world in December →