Contagious wildfires still rage on across Canada, engulfing 11 million and counting acres in thick flames and suffocating smoke. With 150 active fires, and 120,000 people displaced, air quality has decreased exponentially. Thick smoke and ash have descended into the Northeast, covering New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, parts of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania in a blanket of black fog. As of right now, many states are under a severe and hazardous air quality watch–putting millions at risk. New York got hit catastrophically, currently calculating in at one of the worst air qualities in the world to date.
Fading out the George Washington bridge and Statue of Liberty, Manhattan has been enveloped in the smoke and pollution from the Canadian wildfires. Early Wednesday morning, June 7th, New York became second to Delhi, India across 100 tracked countries for having the worst air quality and pollution. According to the Swiss air quality tech company, IQAir, NY has been put at an Air Quality Index of 160, categorized as “unhealthy,” meaning hundreds to thousands of people are exposed to toxic air and may be susceptible to leading health issues. That ranking was soon bumped down to third, coming in after Detroit, Michigan with a 162 rating.
According to IQAir, particulate matter in New York’s air was measured at 14.5 times the regulated level by the World Health Organization's annual air quality guideline. Fortunately, IQAir has stated that this measurement should be increasing to “moderate” by the end of the weekend.
Typically, fire season begins in May with light occurrences, but this season has had an alarming and vigorous progression, leaving many Canadian officials concerned. The wildfires are due from warming temperatures and periods of drought across Canada, a phenomenon that normally is not seen this heavily during these early months in those regions. The Canadian government has announced that in the month of June these conditions will increase wildfire chances across British Columbia and Yukon into western Quebec and Atlantic regions. Pushing into July with chances of fires through the Yukon into central Ontario. These fires are believed to be “one of the worst wildfire seasons on record.”
"The threat of increased fires due to climate change is one of the many reasons our government is developing a robust National Adaptation Strategy with all levels of government and Indigenous groups, so we can be sure our communities are well prepared for the impacts of climate change," stated Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault.
