NASA: Smoke from wildfires in Australia flies halfway around the Earth

The US space and space agency (NASA) says the smoke from major fires in Australia will soon spread globally.

Massive fires have raged along Australia's east coast for months, pushing smoke across the Pacific Ocean.

NASA said the smoke from early New Year fires passed through South America, causing the sky to become cloudy and move "halfway around the Earth" on January 8.

"Smoke is expected to create at least one full circle globally , " the US space agency said.

Smoke rises from the International Space Station.(Photo: NASA).

NASA said the fires were so recent that they created an "unusually large" number of cosmic cloud phenomena or fires caused by thunder .

They have taken smoke to the stratosphere, some reaching heights of 17.7km.

"Once in the stratosphere, smoke can travel thousands of kilometers away from its source, affecting global atmospheric conditions," NASA said.

The agency says it is studying the effects of smoke at this altitude and whether it "cools or warms the atmosphere" .

Satellite images show smoke coming towards New Zealand on January 5.(Photo: NASA).

NASA noted that smoke has altered the color of the skies in South America and significantly affected New Zealand, where it "causes serious air quality problems" and "snow on clear dark peaks." pronounced ".

According to the BBC, Australia's major cities including Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Adelaide also suffer from the dangerous air quality levels caused by smoke from nearby wildfires.

Hundreds of wildfires across Australia have killed 28 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes.

Experts say the unprecedented scale and intensity of fires have been exacerbated by climate change.

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