NEW YORK – Several states in the central and northeastern United States have warned that smoke from hundreds of active fires in Canada is already affecting air quality and may continue to spread in the coming hours and harm the health of its inhabitants, local media reported.
The states of Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Delaware, Kansas, Ohio, New York and Virginia have sounded the alarms and have asked the population to carefully follow the pollution alerts, which could affect people with respiratory problems. , children and the elderly.
The authorities recommend the use of N95 masks, as well as avoiding outdoor activities.
While the first big cities have already been affected, such as Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis, which according to the air pollution measurement website IQAir are among the four most polluted metropolises in the world at the moment, the winds are expected to move the smoke to other areas of the country.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul warned that the smoke could reach the northernmost parts of the state’s west on Wednesday and reach New York City (in the far south) by the end of the day.
“While we closely monitor forecasts, New Yorkers should be prepared for the possible return of smoke from the Canadian wildfires,” Hochul said.
The governor asked the citizens of the state to remain vigilant, especially those vulnerable to air pollution.
Last Sunday, the Canadian city of Montreal, the largest city in the Quebec region, where there are hundreds of active fires, registered the highest levels of pollution on the planet, forcing the cancellation of numerous outdoor activities.
Toronto ranked as the fifth most polluted city on the planet, according to IQAir.
At the beginning of the month, the authorities of several states in the northeastern United States activated alerts due to the levels of air pollution, as a result of the presence of smoke from the Canadian fires.
A NASA scientist then assured that surface smoke contamination from New York to the Washington capital region was the most significant since July 2002, when a similar situation occurred.
2023-06-28 14:59:48
#cities #alert #smoke #fires #Canada
