![]() He says firefighters from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, France and the United States are also helping out. "It's all hands on deck, and around the clock," Blair added. He acknowledged the "challenging start" to wildfire season but reassured Canadians that "there are strong plans in place" to respond to it. They began in late April in British Columbia and Alberta, and new blazes have cropped up in recent weeks in the eastern provinces of Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec.īill Blair, Canada's minister of public safety, said at a Wednesday briefing that there are 414 active wildfires, with 239 of those considered out of control. Wildfire season is off to an early and intense start in Canada, where 2,293 wildfires have scorched a whopping 9.4 million acres and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. will improve when the fires stop or the weather patterns change.Īnd while there are efforts to contain the blazes in Canada, that may take some time. EDT and provided by CIRA/NOAA, smoke from wildfires burning in the Canadian Provinces of Quebec, right, and Ontario, left, drift southward.Įxperts say air quality in the U.S. (CIRA/NOAA via AP) In this GOES-16 GeoColor and fire temperature satellite image taken Tuesday, Jat 6:40 p.m. Here's what to know about the ongoing blazes and what they could mean for the air quality in your area. ![]() expected to experience unhealthy air quality levels for all age groups through Thursday, before winds shift more easterly, pushing smoke further west into the interior Northeast and Ohio Valley on Friday," says the National Weather Service. "As a nearly stationary upper-low churns off the New England coastline, sustained northerly winds will allow the smoke to spread southward, with major metro areas such as Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. "įorecasters expect hard-hit areas in New England and the Mid-Atlantic to see some relief on Friday, but shifting wind patterns could mean worsening air quality for people across vast stretches of the Midwest and South. "But we need to understand those processes so we can eventually understand what we're exposed to when we're exposed to those. "There's nothing you can do about the processes of the atmosphere," says William Vizuete, a professor in the department of of environmental sciences and engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Officials are warning people, especially children, the elderly and those with heart and respiratory conditions, to take precautions and stay inside until the smoke clears, which could take days. The haze - which contains particulate matter that poses both short- and long-term health risks - has disrupted air travel, sporting events and all sorts of outdoor activities. Millions of Americans from the Northeast to the Midwest were under air quality alerts on Thursday, as smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to fill the skies. ![]()
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