Smoke from several severe wildfires in Canada has blanketed parts of the US East Coast, making air quality dangerous.
Hundreds of bushels of fire in eastern Canada have moved south, leaving a thick, foggy veil over the US boroughs of New York and orange skies elsewhere. “Mars or Manhattan?” wrote a user on Twitter, posting a photo of the skyline including the Empire State Building.
As the “New York Times” reported, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul spoke of an “urgent crisis.” This condition may last for several days. “People need to prepare for the long haul.”
People in New York have been urged to stay indoors and close windows whenever possible. All outdoor activities at schools and kindergartens have been cancelled, and many outdoor events have also been cancelled.
In the US capital, Washington, about 370 kilometers to the south, the air on Wednesday was overcast and smelled of burning. Both cities issued warnings of poor air quality.
New Yorkers must stay indoors
Meanwhile, New York had high levels of air pollution: “hazardous” – according to the official website Airnow.gov, requiring all 8 million metropolitan residents to stay indoors and reduce physical activity. “Today is not a day to train for a marathon,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
In street canyons, not only was visibility significantly reduced, but smoke was felt in the eyes and throat. Many are again wearing protective masks, which were widespread due to the corona pandemic.
Such is the case with lawyer Hugh Hill, who walks his dog in New York’s Central Park. He said his eyes and throat were “stinging” from the stench, which smelled like a wood fire.
“Yesterday when we walked home from school, we smelled smoke,” said math professor Evangelia Antonakos, who was walking through Central Park with her five-year-old son. “At home we closed our windows and used air filters.”
The FAA said flights to and from airports in the New York City area and Philadelphia were restricted due to low visibility. There were serious delays.
The US government blames climate change
Manhattan Mayor Mark Levin wrote: “Air quality is rapidly deteriorating.” The measured value is “more than twice the highest level of health hazards on the US government scale.”
In Canada’s Ottawa and Toronto, and in the US states of Minnesota and Massachusetts, officials warned residents of bad air. Fires have been burning in western Canada and now in the northeastern part of the country for several weeks. In the southeastern province of Nova Scotia, the situation has eased somewhat recently.
President Joe Biden has also been briefed on the situation, the White House said. “This is another alarming example of how the climate crisis is affecting our lives and communities,” spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said. (dpa/AFP)
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