Health officials recommended vulnerable citizens wear high-quality masks outside as parts of New York City had been blanketed in a heavy coating of smoke.
The office of Mayor Eric Adams issued a warning: “If you are an older adult or have heart or breathing problems and need to be outside, wear a high-quality mask,” Similar warnings had been issued in Toronto and Ottawa, Canada.
With warm and dry weather anticipated to last for months, these early-starting wildfires set Canada on track for its most destructive wildfire season in history.
Almost all of Canada’s provinces and territories experienced wildfires, but Quebec had been particularly heavily impacted due to many flames started by lightning strikes. A health warning for counties including New York, the Bronx, and Queens had been issued in response by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The warning advised citizens to limit physically demanding outdoor activities to reduce the danger of negative health effects.
Environment Canada’s Air Quality Health Index stated that the neighboring Ottawa, the nation’s capital, endured cloudy circumstances with extremely bad air quality. The worsening air quality is a result of smoke plumes from both local and Quebecian fires. The government-run weather bureau reported that Toronto also experienced air pollution which will likely last the rest of the week.
Environment Canada emphasized that even low levels of wildfire smoke can be dangerous to health, especially for people who already have heart or lung conditions, as well as for children, elderly people, and pregnant women. Melanie Joly, Canada’s foreign minister, thanked the US, Mexico, South Africa, and France for sending firefighters to help fight the current wildfires.
The federal government sent military forces and ordered a widespread home evacuation as a result of the record wildfires in eastern Canada. Thirteen times the ten-year average amount of land has already burned—more than 3.3 million hectares—and more than 120,000 people have temporarily lost their homes as a result.
The people were advised by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to heed local authorities’ instructions to guarantee their safety in the impacted areas, including Ottawa, where smoke from the wildfires has had an impact.
