Satellite data and map showing high levels of aerosoles in the atmosphere due to wildfires on the Pacific coast of the USA on the 14th (top), 15th (middle) and 16th (bottom) September 2020. Smoke from the fires is colour-coded according to levels of black carbon, with blue areas having low levels, through yellow and orange to areas with the highest black carbon levels being dark red. The smoke moved eastwards across the US where it met the storms (spiralling clouds) Paulette (more northerly) and Sally (more southerly) on the Atlantic coast. The storms steered the smoke in a northwesterly direction. Since mid-August millions of acres have burned on the Pacific coast, destroying thousands of homes and killing dozens of people. Black carbon data from the GEOS forward processing (GEOS-FP) model. Storm data obtained by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite.