Smoke from fires in Canada is suffocating the northeastern US

Haze caused by smoke from a series of fires in Canada It continues to spread across the northeastern United States, and air quality in cities such as Washington and New York remains unhealthy, which will continue for several days.

Millions of citizens (approximately 75 million live in the area) remain on alert due to the risk of breathing potentially harmful air from hundreds of wildfires raging in Canada, the smoke cloud of which has been visibly detected by US NASA satellites. .

Through a statement, NASA explained that although smoke from forest fires from canadaIt often passes over the United States several times a summer and usually goes undetected because it is relatively high in the atmosphere and because winds tend to blow the smoke eastward and out to sea.

That wasn’t the case today, and as a result of a weather phenomenon known as a “coastal low,” smoke descended into the southern and eastern US and worsened the surface air quality that millions of people breathe.

“Surface pollution by smoke from NY even the DC region is the most significant since July 2002, when a similar situation occurred,” said NASA scientist Ryan Stauffer.

In a statement, US President Joe Biden called on the population to periodically check the air quality in the place where they are via the website of the Environmental Protection Agency.

“Stay safe and follow the instructions of your local officials,” said the president, who said what happened was “another reminder of the impacts of climate change.”

After the unusual pictures were published on Wednesday of iconic buildings like the Empire State Building Surrounded by a cloud of orange smoke, the US Capitol in Washington woke up to a haze this Thursday.

At a press conference, the mayor of the capital, Muriel Bowser, confirmed that the city has raised the purple alert level, the highest, today.

Air quality in New York City began to improve slightly Thursday morning, though it is still at a “very unhealthy” level of 5 out of 6.

The health commissioner asked the citizens don’t go out unless “absolutely necessary” and recommended the use of masks, such as N95, for those who must perform activities abroad.