A dangerous layer of smoke has enveloped the Northeast and the Midwest as Canada battles roughly 400 wildfires.
With the summer season steadily approaching, it offers a preview of an unprecedented and unwieldy wildfire season as the effects of global warming ramp up.
“Our modeling shows this may be an especially severe wildfire season throughout this summer,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a press conference Monday. “This is a scary time for a lot of people.”
The smoke from Canada’s wildfires traveled roughly 500 miles to New York because of a push from a storm system off the coast of Canada, The New York Times reported.
With carbon dioxide levels at an all-time high and wildfire smoke raging through the border, officials recommend that people, especially those with asthma or other respiratory issues, remain indoors or wear a mask outdoors.
The smoke affects roughly 55 million people across the eastern United States.
The National Weather Service’s storm prediction center said Tuesday that “dry thunderstorms” threaten to create “out of control” wildfires in the U.S.
“People have to prepare for this over the long haul,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned, according to The New York Times.
“New York City and Syracuse were among the worst places in the entire planet yesterday,” she added.
Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration has paused flights from New York’s La Guardia Airport as visibility worsens, and New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport may be next. Likewise, schools in New York have even canceled outdoor activities for students.
Still, the effects of the smoke have traveled further than New York and New Jersey’s borders. The haze has made its way to the DMV, Indiana and Ohio, according to Air Now, which tracks air-quality data on a map.
See photos of the smoke below.
