CBC Manitoba: Satellites detected early hints of ‘catastrophic’ wildfire season in Manitoba, researchers say

Climatologist Alex Crawford, who wasn’t part of the study, said there are limitations to which conclusions can be drawn by focusing on pre-conditions for fires.

He also said we don’t necessarily “need AI to tell us that it was a drier April, or that there was less snow present.”

Crawford, assistant professor in the University of Manitoba’s environment and geography department, was encouraged by the potential predictive value of another element of the study.

“One thing we don’t have as good of information about from the weather stations that we have is soil moisture,” he said.

“If we can get that from satellites, it’s … more directly relevant to how dry the plants are than say, ‘What’s the temperature? What’s the snowpack? What’s the precipitation.”

To read the entire conversation, please follow the link to CBC Manitoba.