Smoke from the wildfires in Canada is fouling the air and reducing visibility across much of the U.S. Midwest. The Great Lakes region, bordering Canada, was particularly affected by unhealthy to very unhealthy air quality, as shown on maps from the National Weather Service and the US Environmental Protection Agency.
In the metropolis of Chicago, Illinois, where the skyline was only dimly visible through fog on Tuesday, the mayor urged children, the elderly, pregnant women and people with heart and lung conditions to avoid strenuous activity and spend little time outdoors. . “Cities across North America experienced unhealthy air quality this summer due to smoke from wildfires impacting more than 20 million people in New York City, Washington DC, Montreal and here in Chicago today,” wrote Mayor Brandon Johnson on Facebook on Tuesday. The “worrying episode” highlights the damaging effects the climate crisis is having on city dwellers and around the world.
Numerous fires have been raging across Canada for weeks. In early June, smoke enveloped parts of the US east coast and caused the worst air quality in decades in the metropolis of New York. Even in Portugal, a cloud of smoke is currently darkening the sky – according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA), this also comes from the fires in Canada.