The images arriving from New York make an impression: the metropolis is enveloped in the smoke and ashes of the fires that are raging in Canada and the air quality alert has been triggered. 100 million Americans are involved.
The emergency is very high in the Big Apple where the indexed Aqi has reached 342, a level considered "dangerous" for all residents, making the city the most polluted in the world.
The thick haze hid the sun and made the air so unbreathable that the masks, abandoned in the post-pandemic for Covid, returned.
“Stay indoors or wear a mask outdoors,” Mayor Eric Adams said. Governor Kathy Hochul echoed him: "We are in an emergency situation, stay indoors if you can". Schools have suspended outdoor activities to protect children.
At the city's airports, poor visibility due to haze is slowing down operations and delays are an hour on average. “Limit your exposure. This is not a good day to train for a marathon,” Adams said, asking runners not to celebrate Global Running Day outdoors. The New York Road Runner, the association that organizes the New York marathon, has canceled all the events scheduled for the world running day due to the blanket of ash and smoke that envelops the city and which makes the air quality the worst since 1960. But it is the entire northeastern United States that is affected by the smoke and ashes arriving from Canada.
Outdoor activities have also been suspended in schools in Washington DC. In Philadelphia, health authorities have urged citizens to "avoid excessive physical activity outdoors and, if possible, to use a mask". Charlotte, North Carolina has the worst air quality since 2016. And while millions of Americans are having difficulty breathing, it is even worse for Canadians. Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa are the cities that are paying the highest price for the hundreds of fires that burn the country, with the situation not expected to improve anytime soon. The meteorological service has in fact warned of a possible worsening in the coming days.
(Unioneonline/ss)
