How raging wildfires in Canada, eastern US have pushed New York into an air pollution crisis

New York and parts of the eastern United States and Canada were recently shrouded in a gray smoky haze from fires burning in the western Uni...

New York and parts of the eastern United States and Canada were recently shrouded in a gray smoky haze from fires burning in the western United States and Canada including Oregon's Bootleg Fire, which grew to 1,569 square kilometers — half the size of Rhode Island.

New York state's environmental protection services issued an air quality advisory, automatically triggered when fine particle matter is expected to rise above 35 micrograms per cubic meter of air.

Why is this happening? An expert from the agency said it is not uncommon for smoke from fires in the west of the country to reach the New York area, but they usually remain high enough to not affect air quality, reported AFP. This time, the smoke was lower than usual, the expert said.

“We’re seeing lots of fires producing a tremendous amount of smoke, and ... by the time that smoke gets to the eastern portion of the country where it’s usually thinned out, there’s just so much smoke in the atmosphere from all these fires that it’s still pretty thick,” said David Lawrence, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service told AP. “Over the last two years we’ve seen this phenomenon."


“I lost my whole life, everything I’ve ever had. The kids are what’s going to matter,” he said as he fielded calls from relatives. “I got three teenagers. They’re going to go home to a moonscape.”

The phenomenon was set to dissipate on Wednesday with the arrival of a cold front in the New York region, said a spokesperson for the US National Weather Service.

What is happening: Several large fires have ravaged the western United States in recent days — notably in California, Nevada and Oregon, where the dangerous Bootleg Fire is still raging, even though the fire season has only just begun.

  • In Canada, more than 2,000 people have been evacuated in recent days in the province of Ontario, the most populous in the country, and more than 200 fires were active in the province and neighboring Manitoba, according to official figures Tuesday.
  • Fires also grew on both sides of California's Sierra Nevada. In Alpine County, the so-called California Alps, the Tamarack Fire caused evacuations of several communities and grew to 158 square kilometers with no containment.
  • The Dixie Fire, near the site of 2018's deadly Paradise Fire, was more than 163 square kilometers and threatened tiny communities in the Feather River Valley region.
  • The Oregon fire has ravaged the southern part of the state and has been expanding by up to six kilometers a day, pushed by gusting winds and critically dry weather that's turned trees and undergrowth into a tinderbox.
  • A red flag weather warning signifying dangerous fire conditions was in effect through Tuesday and possibly longer. The fire is 30 percent contained.




“It’s so devastating. The fire burned through a lot of area where I’ve hunted with my father and brother and other folks who have since passed away,” said Klamath Tribes Chairman Don Gentry. “It’s all our aboriginal territory and it’s certainly going to impact big game and cultural sites and resources.”

With inputs from AP and AFP

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India World News: How raging wildfires in Canada, eastern US have pushed New York into an air pollution crisis
India World News