2023-06-08 23:36:59
Many schools are closed, all outdoor activities are canceled in New York, and hundreds of planes are grounded or delayed at airports on the East Coast due to poor visibility.
The thick blanket of smoke from Quebec that is smoky in the eastern United States, from Lake Ontario to Maine, should continue its progression on Thursday towards the south and the most densely populated areas of the United States.
The smoke, which obscures the sky from upstate New York to Virginia, is also expected to linger for several more days due to a weather system that has settled over New England and is pushing the masses smoke to the south.
According to the US weather services, this system could last until next week. Which is not good news for Americans.
More than 400 fires are raging in Canada’s forests, including more than 150 in Quebec, where little or no rain is forecast for the next few days. A number of fires 10 times higher than the average for this time of year in Canada. More than 3.3 million hectares of forest have gone up in smoke since the beginning of the year. Unheard of in the country so early in the season.
As of 9 a.m., New York ranked first among the most air-polluted cities in the world, while Detroit, Michigan ranked fourth.
« Just stay indoors. It is dangerous to go out in almost all areas of our state. »
Late Wednesday night, the air quality index in New York City rose above 320 – out of a total of 400, knowing that good air quality is between 0 and 50 – which means he was downright dangerous
.
The air pollution index reached level 6 out of 6, the worst designation from AirNow.gov, an air quality data site operated in partnership by several government agencies.
Smoke from Canadian wildfires bothers and angers Americans. New York City had the worst air quality in the world on Thursday. Interview with Fanny Chauvin, special collaborator in New York.
Early Thursday morning, Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pa., were the hardest-hit metropolitan areas, in turn posting low air quality dangerous
.
Other large American cities such as Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Washington DC must now also deal with high pollution indices.
Distribution of masks
US Public Health recommends that people who live in areas affected by smoke wear a properly fitted N95 mask to guard against the harmful effects of air saturated with airborne particles.
More than one million N95 masks have been removed from Homeland Security stockpiles for distribution to residents of New York State.
Photo: Archyde.com / MIKE SEGAR
New York state has begun distributing nearly one million N95 masks from Homeland Security stockpiles to the public, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday night.
Public schools in Yonkers, New York, are closed Thursday. Other school districts in New York, Maryland, Virginia and Washington have canceled outdoor activities, while the governor of New Jersey has encouraged local school districts to do the same.
« If you don’t have to be outside, don’t. »
Thursday morning, authorities anticipated a significant deterioration in air quality in Delaware, Maryland, northern Virginia and Washington DC due to southerly winds.
In this National Weather Service (NWS) video that covers a three-hour daytime period on Wednesday, you can see how quickly New York City was literally engulfed in smoke from the wildfires.
Hundreds of delayed flights
In several major American cities, the smoke is so dense that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has suspended or delayed flights at LaGuardia airports in New York and at Philadelphia airport for reasons of low visibility.
New York and Philadelphia airports, the three Washington airports and one in Charlotte are all likely to be subject to similar measures, aviation authorities have announced.
According to the FlightAware website, American airlines had delayed 472 flights Thursday morning in addition to canceling 55. JFK airport in New York and Newark Liberty airport in Newark, New Jersey, were the most affected.
According to Mark Zondlo, an atmospheric chemist and professor of civil and environmental engineering at Princeton University, smoke from the fires has produced some of the poorest air quality measurements recorded in the United States for decades. decades.
apart from the fact that the fires are huge– is that the air remains very close to the ground, he explained on the airwaves of CNN. Thus, instead of being transported upwards and dispersing in the atmosphere or in the layer located 10000feet above our heads, the air hugs the ground and therefore does not disperse.”,”text”:”What makes this situation really unique – besides the fact that the fires are huge – is that the The air stays very close to the ground, he explained on the airwaves of CNN. Thus, instead of being transported upwards and dispersing in the atmosphere or in the layer located 10,000 feet above our heads, the air hugs the ground and therefore does not disperse.”” >What makes this situation really unique – besides the fact that the fires are huge – is that the air stays very close to the ground, he explained on the airwaves of CNN. So instead of being carried up and dispersing into the atmosphere or the layer 10,000 feet above our heads, the air hugs the ground and therefore does not disperse.
Three firefighters from the Halifax Fire Department battle wildfires in the Tantallon area, May 30, 2023.
Photo: Communications Nova Scotia
The White House, for its part, ensures that it is in constant contact with the leaders of the states affected by the smoke, but also with the Canadian government.
The United States is also contributing to the fight against wildfires in Canada, in particular by providing more than 600 firefighters and equipment, including air tankers, to assist Canadian firefighters who currently have less than half of the fires under control. gigantic fires ravaging the country’s forests.
Firefighters from South Africa, New Zealand, France, Australia and other countries have also been sent to Canada. The European Union, for its part, has offered to send nearly 300 more firefighters.
firefighters”,”text”:”We stand in solidarity with Canada in the face of the terrible forest fires. Canada has asked the EU for support through the Civil Protection Mechanism and we are responding promptly. France, Portugal and Spain have offered to send more than 280 firefighters””>We stand in solidarity with Canada in the face of the terrible forest fires. Canada has asked the EU for support through the Civil Protection Mechanism and we are responding promptly. France, Portugal and Spain have offered to send more than 280 firefighters
European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen announced on Wednesday evening.
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