A huge fire in southwest France has generated the country's first recorded pyrocumulonimbus fire cloud, which are far more common in Canada. Here's why these clouds are special, how they form and how they make wildfires worse.

Severe wildfires can generate their own unique weather systems. One of the most striking examples of this are dangerous pyrocumulonimbus, or pyroCB, clouds

Pyrocumulus clouds can dramatically alter the spread and intensity of wildfires