JULY 23, 2026

Columbia Climate Scientist Describes 2026 Canadian Wildfire Season as Unusually Severe

Canadian wildfires are burning at a significant scale in 2026, drawing attention from climate scientists. Radley Horton, a professor at Columbia University's Climate School, described the current wildfire season as an especially difficult one. CNN's Bianna Golodryga interviewed Horton about the fires' scope and impact.

Canadian wildfires have intensified in 2026, prompting commentary from climate researchers tracking the season's progression. CNN's Amanpour program featured an interview with Radley Horton, a professor at Columbia University's Climate School, in which he characterized the year as "off to a really rough start" in terms of wildfire activity.

Horton, speaking with anchor Bianna Golodryga, addressed both the scale and the impact of the ongoing fires. The interview ran approximately nine and a half minutes, suggesting a detailed discussion of the conditions driving the fires and their broader consequences, though the specific data points and projections Horton cited were not available in the text record of the segment.

The CNN segment represents the primary available source for this story. Because the coverage is drawn from a single television interview transcript — with the full video content rather than a written article — the specific scientific figures, acreage burned, number of fires, or year-over-year comparisons discussed by Horton could not be independently verified from the supplied source material.