Dal Quotidiano “USA TODAY”: Harmful air returning to large swaths of US

This May 31, 2023, image courtesy of the Nova Scotia Government in Canada, shows one of eight aircraft from New Brunswick that drops a mix of water and fire retardant making a pass over the fire near Barrington Lake, Shelburne County. Firefighters on May 31, faced a grueling uphill battle against wildfires in Canada's Nova Scotia province, including one threatening suburbs of Halifax. Federal help was coming, officials said, along with firefighters from the United States. "We're in a crisis in the province and we want and we need and we will take all the support we can get," Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston told a news conference. "These fires are unprecedented." (Photo by Handout / Nova Scotia Government / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / Nova Scotia Government" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS (Photo by HANDOUT/Nova Scotia Government/AFP via Getty Images)


Canadian wildfire haze again sends vulnerable groups indoors
Jeanine Santucci USA TODAY · 30 Giu 2023

Smoke drifting into the U. S. from wildfires in Canada was making air quality unhealthy in much of the Midwest, and East Coast residents were bracing for another wave of haze.
Chicagoans awoke to a clouded, gray sky that limited visibility, irritated lungs and filled noses with a thick burning smell for the second straight day Wednesday. The sky was smoky in Milwaukee, Indianapolis and several other cities. In Detroit, smoke combined with a dense fog limited visibility to below a quarter- mile early Wednesday, forcing drivers to take extra caution.
Residents on the East Coast were also under air quality alerts. The air was unhealthy for sensitive groups in the Washington, D. C,. metro area. The quality was expected to worsen and spread more up and down the coast, into the New York City region and as far south as the Carolinas into Thursday.
Particulate levels set record highs on
Tuesday for the past two decades in Buffalo, New York; Cincinnati; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Madison, Wisconsin; and Milwaukee, the Weather Channel reported.
“As we work to respond to the immediate health concerns in our communities, this concerning episode demonstrates and underscores the harmful impact that the climate crisis is having on our residents, as well as people all over the world,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement.
US cities with the worst air
Three U. S. cities ranked among the top five major cities in the world with the worst air quality early Wednesday: Detroit, Chicago and Minneapolis, according to IQ Air’s live ranking of major world cities. Washington, D. C., made the top 10.
According to AirNow. gov, huge swaths of the Midwest had air quality in at least the red, or “unhealthy” level, including most or all of the states of Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Parts of Minnesota, Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia and New York were also in the red on a national map.
The air was “very unhealthy” − purple on the air quality index map − in parts of Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
New Yorkers should also be expecting more unhealthy air coming back their way over the next couple of days, weeks after the state reached hazardous levels and residents were blanketed in an orange haze.
“There’s a potential for temporary spikes in Air Quality Index levels to reach ‘ Very Unhealthy’ or ‘ Hazardous,’ ” the New York State Department of Health said in a statement Wednesday.
Other parts of the East Coast, including the Washington, D. C., region, New York City and stretching as far south as the Carolinas should expect air quality in at least the “unhealthy for sensitive groups” range into Thursday, according to a national air quality forecast from AirNow. gov.
Where is the smoke coming from?
Air quality is unhealthy because of the level of particulates in the air from Canadian wildfires, which have drifted into the U. S. at various points in the past several weeks.
There were 483 active wildfires throughout Canada as of Tuesday, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. Of those, 253 were considered out of control. Nearly a quarter of the fires in Canada were in Quebec.
This year has been a record- breaking fire season for Canada, and it’s still early. More than 29,393 square miles have burned this year, exceeding the record set in 1989 of 29,187 square miles, according to the National Forestry Database.
What to do if the air quality is bad
Depending on the level of the air quality, people should take levels of precaution depending on whether they have underlying conditions or are in sensitive age groups. Older people, children and people with heart and lung problems should take greater care to avoid strenuous activity outdoors or stay inside as much as they can. When the air quality reaches an unhealthy level for everyone, it’s best for all to stay indoors.
The particles in wildfire smoke can irritate the eyes, nose and throat and can affect the heart and lungs, making it harder to breathe.
Keep windows and doors shut to prevent smoky air from getting inside, and use air purifiers to improve indoor air quality. If you must go outside, make it brief and wear an N95 or better mask, experts say.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said masks would be made available free throughout the state. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said it was handing out KN95 masks at transit stations Wednesday.
How the air quality index works
As people seek ways to stay safe, it is important to understand how the air quality index, or AQI, works. The color- coded system measures the air quality in relation to certain pollutants and the associated health risks at various levels.
The AQI is measured on a scale of 0 to 500. The higher the AQI values, the greater the level of air pollution and health concern there is, according to AirNow. gov. “Levels of concern” in relation to air pollutants range from “good” to “hazardous.” That’s based on how someone would be affected after breathing in polluted air for a few hours or days.
Each level is also assigned a corresponding color, from green, representing “good,” to maroon, representing “hazardous.”
If AQI values are at or are below 100, air quality is generally considered satisfactory. But once the AQI rises above that value, it is unhealthy. That affects certain sensitive groups first, but it will affect everyone as the AQI values increase.

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