Air quality in NYC hit record lows on Wednesday, ranking as the world’s most polluted city due to the persistent drift of Canadian wildfire smoke!
Canada wildfire smoke continues to severely impact New York city air and other major cities across the United States, prompting health officials to issue warnings, particularly to children, and the elderly with respiratory conditions, advising them to limit their outdoor activities.
Over 75 million people in the Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast regions of the U.S. are currently under air quality alerts due to the widespread smoke. Cities like New York, Boston, Washington, DC, Charlotte, Detroit, and Indianapolis are among those affected.
The forecast indicates that the hazardous conditions will persist, with Delaware, Maryland, northern Virginia, and the nation’s capital likely to experience some of the worst air quality by Thursday morning. You can monitor the air quality through the provided link.
This year, Canada has been ravaged by wildfires, with over 9 million acres already consumed — an astonishing fifteen times the typical burned area at this stage of the year.
In response to the poor visibility caused by the smoke, the Federal Aviation Administration has implemented a ground stop for all flights heading to New York’s LaGuardia Airport.
The pollution in New York City air has reached “hazardous” levels, prompting authorities to urge everyone to remain indoors. Additionally, employees at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. have been advised to cut back on outdoor activities.
Updated forecasts indicate that the lingering smoke is gradually drifting southward. While conditions are expected to improve in the Northeast and along the Atlantic Coast on Thursday, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Detroit may experience a worsening of air quality.
So what led to the decline of air quality in NYC?
In recent weeks, Canada has been grappling with a significant wildfire outbreak that has led to widespread evacuations and the destruction of over 3.3 million hectares of land, surpassing the size of Maryland.
While Canadian wildfires typically occur between May and October, the extent of devastation observed this early in the season is highly uncommon.
This year, Canada is on track to experience its most destructive wildfire season on record, fueled by the combination of climate change-induced extreme temperatures and drought, which have transformed the affected areas into a highly combustible environment.
The consequences of this crisis are not confined to Canada alone. The smoke emanating from the wildfires has spread across a substantial portion of the United States, impacting air quality for millions of people along the East Coast.
Unfortunately, the fires continue to rage unabated, with no signs of abatement in the near future.
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Who is responsible for Canadian wildfires?
The combination of warm and dry conditions serves as fuel for wildfires, and this pattern has become more prevalent due to the ongoing impact of climate change.
Canada, like the rest of North America, has recently witnessed record-breaking heatwaves and drought, contributing to the escalation of wildfire risks.
“The fire season is also lasting longer now because of climate change,” remarked Edward Struzik, a fellow at Queen’s Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy at Queen’s University in Canada, emphasizing the role of climate change in extending the duration of fire seasons, as reported by CBS News.
Data from the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System reveals that the extent of destruction caused by these fires so far this season is 13 times greater than the 10-year average.
New York City found itself engulfed in a dense smog, resulting in orange-tinted skies that obscured the city’s iconic skyscrapers and even the Statue of Liberty.
These occurrences, as the quote suggests, are not coincidental and are directly linked to the underlying factors driving the escalating wildfire events exacerbated by climate change.
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This vivid display serves as a stark reminder of the far-reaching impacts of wildfires and the urgent need to address the underlying factors contributing to these devastating events.
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