Millions of people across the United States and Canada will continue to be at risk of breathing potentially harmful air from Quebec’s wildfires on Thursday, as increasing officials urge people to limit the time they spend outdoors and then to hide for security reasons.
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Huge plumes of thick smoke from active wildfires raging across Canada have descended across parts of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic United States, blanketing neighborhoods, parks and schoolyards in an orange haze full of potential pollutants. And forecasts suggest it could take several days for the air to clear.
- Yves Poirier, journalist at TVA, is live from Senneterre in Abitibi. Check out his account over QUB radio :
About 75 million people are on alert in the United States for poor air quality. Public schools in the Yonkers neighborhood are closed, while other school districts in the states of Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC have canceled outdoor activities. The New Jersey governor has encouraged local school boards to do the same.
“It’s bad or really bad depending on where you are,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Wednesday, urging “little children, the elderly and anyone with lung problems to stay indoors.” .” If you must go out, remember to wear a good, well-fitting N95 mask.
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Winds are expected to continue driving thick smoke further south into the mid-Atlantic and could choke Delaware, Maryland, Northern Virginia and Washington, DC Thursday morning.
Late Wednesday night, New York’s air quality index climbed above 320, meaning it was “hazardous,” or level 6 out of 6, the worst rating from AirNow.gov, an air quality data site operated in partnership with multiple government agencies. Air quality in the city is starting to improve slightly, but is still at a “very unhealthy” level, with a 5 out of 6.
Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania were the hardest-hit metro areas early Thursday morning, with air quality said to be “hazardous.” Other major cities in the United States that record “unhealthy” scores for sensitive groups include Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Washington, DC
People exposed to poor air quality, including the elderly and young children, are urged to limit the time they spend outdoors where possible.
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Smoke from wildfires has caused the worst air quality in decades, according to Mark Zondlo, an atmospheric chemist specializing in air quality monitoring and a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Princeton University.
“What makes it really unique – apart from the fact that the fires are huge in themselves – is that the air stays very close to the ground. So instead of being lifted and dispersing in the atmosphere or being in the layer 10,000 feet above us, it’s basically hugging the ground and therefore not dispersing, Zondlo told CNN.
“The weather pattern is such that it channels that plume of smoke, keeps it low to the ground, and locks on a target just for us.”
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US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau discussed the impact of wildfires on air quality on Wednesday, according to a statement from Trudeau’s office.
“Both leaders recognized the need to work together to combat the devastating effects of climate change,” the statement said.
Biden directed federal firefighting resources to help put out the fires, the White House said, adding that more than 600 firefighters and support personnel are already deployed.
While these conditions persist, experts and officials have urged people to stay indoors as much as possible and wear N95 or KN95 face masks outdoors to ensure they are adequately protected.
Experts say wildfires are causing poor air quality more frequently and severely as the planet warms from the effects of human-caused climate change.
“We typically see these effects in wildfires in the western United States and in the western mountains,” said Dr. Peter DeCarlo, Associate Professor in the Department of Health and Environmental Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
“The east coast is generally a bit more isolated from this stuff. Our forests tend to be wetter and don’t burn as badly, but while we wait for climate change, while it’s a unique experience right now, it could become a lot less unique and a little more common across the country. “Future.” As New York’s air continues to be compromised, the state is making one million N95 masks available to those in need, the governor announced Wednesday night.
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About 400,000 of these masks would be distributed in New York state parks and transit stations, among other places, Gov. Kathy Hochul said. Another 600,000 masks will be available in Homeland Security’s inventory for local governments to collect, she added.
“Just stay inside. “Nature is dangerous in almost every part of our state,” the governor said, calling the poor air quality “unprecedented.”
To that end, outdoor events hosted by New York City have been canceled and the city’s beaches remain closed, Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday.
Although conditions could improve overnight through Thursday morning, air quality will drop again in the afternoon and evening, Adams said.
“I want to clarify that conditions could potentially improve significantly by Friday morning, however the predictability of the smoke is low and it is difficult to predict the movement of the smoke. … This is an unpredictable series of events,” he added.
Elsewhere, officials in Pennsylvania and Delaware have issued a “red code” to warn residents of potentially harmful air quality.
A red code was issued in Philadelphia on Wednesday, according to James Garrow, janitor, warning that the elderly, young children and people who are pregnant or have heart or lung conditions could have serious health effects from smoke, according to James Garrow, Gatekeeper. Word of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.
“For those who do not belong to a vulnerable group, we ask those individuals to avoid strenuous outdoor activities such as jogging or exercising,” Garrow told CNN.
Delaware has an air quality warning and Code Red action day in place through Thursday. State officials have advised residents to limit the time they spend outdoors and stay in an air-filtered room.
In addition, Rhode Island’s air quality warning was extended through Thursday because of heavy smoke and harmful particles listed on the air quality index.