By Zoya Saleem
June 7, 2024
As smoke from wildfires in eastern Canada spreads across much of the nation, millions of people in the eastern U.S. experienced hazardous air quality conditions on Tuesday.
Major cities in Ontario and Quebec, including Toronto and its surroundings, have been covered with wildfire smoke.
Quebec, where 160 fires are raging, is where the majority of the smoke is coming from.
Tuesday, Environment Canada issued its strongest alert for Ottawa, describing the city’s air quality as posing a “very high risk” to people’s health.
The Canadian government is concentrating on ensuring public safety while bolstering our long-term response as wildfires become more frequent and severe. Several provinces and territories around the nation are going through a terrible wildfire season, and the consequences are already felt widely. The Canadian government is dedicated to providing whole-of-government support to areas hit by wildfires.
According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, the worst effects were felt in Canada, where there were more than 400 active wildfires, adding to an already active wildfire season that is only projected to get worse. According to the EPA, more than 200 of the flames were out of control and the majority of them were in Quebec. On Tuesday, Toronto briefly placed among the ten cities with the worst air quality.
Smoke spreads affects health of millions
Numerous health problems have been linked to wildfire smoke inhalation, according to experts.
An advisory for poor air quality has been issued for New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, and New Hampshire as the smoke is anticipated to continue moving throughout several areas of the East this week.
This warning indicates that the area’s air pollution concentration will be harmful to children, seniors over 65, those with heart or lung problems, and others. These persons were advised to restrict their outdoor time by the alert.
Image source: NASA
The smoke near Oswego, New York, on Lake Ontario, resulted in a haze that settled over the city on Tuesday and gave the sky a mostly yellow hue. Even though the streets were largely deserted and there was a constant breeze by dusk, the smell of smoke was still present.
Some travelers in Manhattan on Tuesday night were surprised by the smell.
Covid masks became wildly popular overnight.
W​hy it’s happening?
Strong winds circling a low pressure system near the New England coast on Monday contributed to a spate of wildfires in the Canadian province of Quebec. The surface-based smoke was moved southward towards the Northeast on Monday night and into Tuesday by the anti-clockwise flow that surrounded that low-pressure system.
As long as the fires in Canada continue to burn, the pattern will mostly remain unchanged for at least the next few days, which means that more smoke may affect the eastern United States.
A wildfire can start when fuel is available, an ignition source is present, and wind is present. Since around 50% of Canadian wildfires are started by humans, McLoughlin noted that ignition is the most straightforward factor to take out of the equation. The rest is caused by light.
