Canada Wildfires: AQIs Drop Across US, Statue of Liberty Hazed in New York City

On Tuesday morning, New Yorkers saw an orange haze covering the skyline of the city brought on by Canadian wildfire smoke that was moving southward into New York City.

Invoking immediate and long-term health dangers from the air, the authorities asked people to refrain from exercising outdoors and restrict their exposure to smoking.

This year, Canada has seen a particularly severe wildfire season. According to the BBC, Canadian authorities have issued a warning that this summer might see some of the country’s worst flames. In much of the nation, the remainder of the summer is expected to be dry and hot, which indicates that the wildfire season might be particularly bad.

In its analysis, the BBC said that more than 3.3 million hectares of land had burned as a result of wildfires, which is 12 times the amount burned at this time of year during the previous 10 years.

Due to the worsening air quality, Canadian authorities were also compelled to order the evacuation of persons with asthma and other respiratory conditions from the Atikamekw hamlet of Opitciwan in Quebec as well as other settlements.

Around 200,000 hectares of land have been burnt by flames in Quebec so far, and thousands of people have been forced to from their homes nationwide.

Due to the wildfires, authorities in the US and Canada have issued high-risk air quality alerts for millions of people.

Major towns in Ontario and Quebec, including Toronto and its surroundings, have been covered in smoke as a result of wildfires, according to the BBC.

According to reports from the BBC and NBCNews, the smoke spread to New York City, Connecticut, the Ohio Valley, the Carolinas, southeastern Minnesota, and sections of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, as well as to more than 60 counties in Wisconsin. The Air Quality Index for several places in eastern Pennsylvania, Boston, Pittsburgh, Washington, DC, New England, and other nearby areas has risen beyond 200, indicating poor conditions for “everyone.”

At least 160 fires are now burning in Quebec, and authorities in Ottawa and Toronto have said that the Canadian capital’s air quality poses a “very high risk” to public health.

Much of the northeastern US has “unhealthy” air quality according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Major fires were reported to be raging in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and the Northwest Territories as well.