Smoke from multiple severe wildfires in Canada has blanketed parts of the U.S. East Coast and contributed to the worst air quality in the New York metropolis in decades.
(Photo: dpa)
New York, Washington Smoke from multiple severe wildfires in Canada has blanketed parts of the U.S. East Coast and contributed to the worst air quality in the New York metropolis in decades.
Plumes from hundreds of fires in eastern Canada moved south, causing thick fog and a brief orange tinge to skies in places like New York. “Mars or Manhattan?” one Twitter user wrote, posting a photo of the skyline including the Empire State Building. There was a burning smell in the air, in the throat and eyes, and it caused a headache.
New York Governor Kathy Hochle spoke of an “emergency crisis” and announced she was giving out 1 million mouth and nose masks. Extreme cases may last for several days. “People have to be prepared for a long time to come,” wrote Manhattan Mayor Mark Levin. “Air quality is deteriorating rapidly.” Measurements “are now more than double the highest health risk level on the scale of the U.S. government. 2
Guterres urges not to give up in face of climate change
UN Secretary-General António Guterres tweeted a photo of him at the former UN headquarters on the New York skyline, visibly shrouded in smoke. “At our United Nations headquarters, we can feel the deterioration of air quality as smoke drifts south from wildfires in Canada,” Guterres wrote. “As global temperatures rise, there is an urgent need to reduce wildfire risk. We There must be peace with nature. We cannot give up.”
New Yorkers have been urged to stay indoors as much as possible, avoid strenuous exercise and keep windows closed. All outdoor events at schools and kindergartens have been cancelled, as have many other open-air events and individual theater performances.
The measurements are said to be twice the highest level of health risk on the scale of the U.S. government.
(Photo: AP)
Lifeguard-supervised swims at the city’s beaches were canceled and the zoo and library closed early. A baseball game between the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Liberty women’s basketball game scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed.
There were far fewer people on the streets than usual, many wearing pandemic masks. Not only was visibility significantly reduced in the street canyons, the smoke was physically felt by millions of people. “It smells like 9/11,” one New Yorker said of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
Also warns of bad air in Washington
In Washington, D.C., about 370 kilometers further south, the air was cloudy and smelt of burning on Wednesday. Like New York, a warning for poor air quality was issued. New York’s highest air pollution level is “hazardous,” according to the official website, Airnow.gov.
Traffic to and from New York City and Philadelphia airports was limited due to poor visibility, the FAA said. There are long delays. Authorities also warned residents of poor air quality in the Canadian metropolises of Ottawa and Toronto, as well as in the U.S. states of Minnesota and Massachusetts. Several fires have ravaged western Canada as well as the country’s northeast for weeks. In Nova Scotia in the southeast, conditions have eased recently.
President Joe Biden has also been briefed on the situation, the White House said. “This is another shocking example of how the climate crisis is affecting our lives and our communities,” spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre said.
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