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Meanwhile, the smoke is still creating hazardous conditions in the West. The haze is so thick that it has cooled expected record-high temperatures for September by 10 degrees, according to climate scientists.

The aerosol optical depth, which is the measure of how much sunlight is blocked by aerosol particles in the atmosphere, has reached levels of seven or above, according to CAMS, which is part of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. To put this in perspective, a level one AOD measurement already implies poor air quality and hazy conditions.

\"The fact that these fires are emitting so much pollution into the atmosphere that we can still see thick smoke over 8,000 kilometers away reflects just how devastating they have been in their magnitude and duration,\" CAMS Senior Scientist Mark Parrington said in a statement.

\"PHOTO:
European Space Agency via Getty Images
PHOTO: The smoke plume off the west coast of the states of Oregon, Washington and California is seen in this handout image from from Copernicus-Sentinel-3 satellite, Sept. 10, 2020.
>

The fires also have emitted far more carbon in 2020 than in any other year since CAMS began recording data in 2003.

While crews are starting to gain containment on several fires, dozens are still burning, and millions of acres in California and Oregon have been scorched.

More than two dozen people have died.

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