Canada's raging wildfires threatening air quality in US

HOUSTON, United States

Canada's raging wildfires are causing severe air quality problems in the US, placing more than 120 million Americans under air quality alerts, according to weather officials on Thursday.

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a Code Red alert -- a warning of unhealthy air quality -- for many of the Midwest States through the Ohio Valley and into the East Coast including Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, Minnesota, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin.

Code Orange alerts, where the air is deemed unhealthy for sensitive groups, were issued for many neighboring states.

Detroit, Washington, DC, Chicago, and New York City were among the world's top 10 cities with the poorest air quality as of Thursday afternoon, according to IQAir, which monitors global air quality.

“With no end in sight to the Canadian wildfires and west to northwesterly winds expected to persist from south central Canada into the north central to northeast U.S., poor air quality conditions are likely to continue,” the NWS said in a statement.

Canada is seeing its worst wildfire season on record with hundreds of blazes actively ravaging the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.

The orange smoke and hazy skies caused by the wildfires pose a serious health threat prompting states like New York to distribute masks to residents.

Other states are urging residents to stay indoors and turn on their air conditioners to stay away from breathing in the contaminated air, prompting the cancellation of many outdoor events.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wildfire smoke carries a tiny but dangerous pollutant that when inhaled can travel deep into the lung tissue and enter the bloodstream which can cause a series of health problems including heart disease, asthma and other respiratory illnesses.

Canada's National Forestry Database showed that there have been more than 3,000 wildfires in the first six months of 2023 burning nearly 20 million acres of land, surpassing Canada's previous record for the amount of land burned in 1989.

There were 500 active wildfires burning in Canada as of Thursday, according to officials, with more than half of the blazes categorized as "out of control."

Smoke from the fires has traveled across the Atlantic Ocean reaching some parts of Europe including France, Spain and Portugal.