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In what President Joe Biden called a “stark reminder” of climate change, smoke from Canadian wildfires once again enveloped US cities in a foul haze on Thursday, causing airline delays and cancelling outdoor events.
The mid-Atlantic region reached “Code Maroon,” the highest level of the Air Quality Index (AQI), signalling hazardous conditions. Thick skies and a burning campfire smell hovered above the nation’s capital, Washington.
This was more toxic than some of the most populated areas in South Asia and China, forcing many citizens to wear masks to safeguard their health. Despite getting better, the situation won’t likely return to normal until the weekend.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, there were air quality advisories in effect for more than 111 million Americans as a result of the fires.
In a statement, Biden stated that the consequences of smoke brought on by destructive wildfires burning in Canada were being felt by millions of Americans, serving as yet another vivid illustration of the implications of climate change.
In addition to the 600 American servicemen already sent to Canada in May, Obama said he was deploying “additional firefighters and fire suppression assets such as air tankers.”
The typical political manoeuvring of the metropolis was not immune to the smoke engulfing the nation’s capital.
The majority of congressional Republicans, according to White House spokesman Andrew Bates, “subscribe to debunked conspiracy theories that deny the existence and nature of climate change,” even as weather events get worse.
An outdoor Pride celebration was postponed by the White House, but a parade and festival this weekend are still scheduled. In the meanwhile, the National Zoo made the decision to close “for the safety of our animals, our staff, and our visitors.”
The afternoon game between the Washington Nationals and the Arizona Diamondbacks has been postponed, according to the Major League Baseball team from the nation’s capital.
While this was going on, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that it had to take action to “manage the flow of traffic safely into New York City, DC, Philadelphia and Charlotte.”
Environmental organisations also did not waste any time in calling attention to the warming and drier circumstances brought on by climate change, which are raising the likelihood and size of wildfires.
May Boeve, CEO of 350.org, stated that the current climate catastrophe is already endangering the health of millions of people by producing severe air pollution.
It brought to mind 9/11.
New York’s skies were much better than they were on Wednesday, despite the fact that the AQI remained high.
According to a city health department official who talked to AFP, “we are seeing higher than usual visits to the Emergency Department related to asthma,” adding that visits and calls were in the “low hundreds.”
In addition to announcing that public schools would begin using remote learning on Friday, officials distributed face masks in parks, bus depots, and railway stations.
At Grand Central Station in Midtown Manhattan, Linda Juliano, a 65-year-old secretary, gratefully accepted a mask.
The sepia-tinted haze that covered New York on Wednesday was “scary; I’ve never seen anything like it,” she told AFP.
When Juliano saw the smoke-filled sky, he added, “It really brought back memories of 9/11.”
According to Environment Canada, the wildfire-related pollution in Canada is anticipated to reach its peak on Thursday in Toronto.
Quebec is going through a catastrophic fire season, with approximately 800,000 hectares (two million acres) impacted, according to the Society for the Protection of Forests Against Fire (SOPFEU).
Compared to the norm over the previous ten years, this year has seen twice as many fires as usual.
The province that speaks French still had over 150 active flames as of Thursday, including roughly 90 that were out of control.
In the upcoming hours and days, additional troops — from the United States, France, and Portugal — are anticipated. Within a short period of time, more than 12,000 individuals had been evacuated.
According to SOPFEU’s Stephane Caron, the situation is still concerning in a number of areas.
“This fire season is only getting started. The time when major flames typically start to break out in Quebec is already upon us, he said.
In the western section of Quebec, authorities have assigned a “extreme” rating to the potential of a fresh outbreak.
