Global Courant
Smoke and unhealthy air in North America
At least 400 wildfires across Canada have triggered air pollution warnings in North America. The smoke hung over major cities in Canada and the northern US, obscuring the sun and bringing out the realities of climate change for people who have rarely experienced the effects of wildfires themselves.
In the US, warnings were in effect across much of the Northeast and Midwest. Philadelphia was under a “code red,” meaning sensitive groups could be at risk. New York City’s air quality was the worst since the Environmental Protection Agency began taking measurements in 1999. Experts warned that the air in Toronto and elsewhere is likely to worsen in the coming days. Here’s a map of the smoke.
“I left a window open last night and there was ash on the top of my laptop, desk and windowsill,” my colleague Ian Austen told us from Toronto. “I could have written my name in it.”
Although it is not yet officially summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it is already a season of extremes. Puerto Rico is under a severe heat alert. The oceans have warmed rapidly. The events show how unprepared the world’s richest continent is for the dangers of the not-too-distant future.
In Canada: Wildfires burn large areas of forests and grasslands between May and September each year. But the fires have scorched an area 10 times larger than usual. Firefighters have been dispatched from the US, South Africa, France, Australia and New Zealand to help Canada fight the flames.
Globally: While air quality levels are unusual for North America, they would not be a cause for alarm in Jakarta or New Delhi. South Asia has nine of the world’s ten worst air cities, and hazardous pollution is estimated to cause two million premature deaths each year, according to the World Bank.
Floods engulf Ukraine
The destruction of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine caused widespread flooding in Ukrainian and Russian-held areas, affecting tens of thousands of people.
In Kherson, rescuers conducted a full evacuation of a neighborhood cut off from the rest of the city by flooded streets. Residents came out of dinghies, exhausted, with a handbag or backpack and sometimes a cat or dog.
The flood hit a war-ravaged area. “We were getting used to the shelling, but I’ve never seen a situation like this,” said a retired nurse. “It just keeps coming.”
The destruction of the dam could cut off the water supply to farmland. “The fields of southern Ukraine could turn into deserts as early as next year,” the Agriculture Ministry said.
The floodwaters are also likely contaminated with toxic chemicals, scientists said, including engine oil from an engine room at the dam, and chemicals and toxins from sewer wells, farmland, cemeteries and gas stations. Here are maps of the floods.
Who’s responsible: Engineering and ordnance experts said a deliberate internal explosion likely caused the dam’s destruction, though they also cited structural failure or attack from outside the dam as possible, if less plausible, reasons.
Hong Kong wants to ban a protest song
The government this week asked a court to ban public performances of “Glory to Hong Kong” and prevent it from circulating online. The move is seen as a test of how much Hong Kong can control online content, and could be the start of a showdown with tech giants.
Popular during pro-democracy protests in 2019, the song is available in Hong Kong on most major online platforms. Authorities have already criticized Google for appearing among search results for the Hong Kong national anthem.
The government’s request for an injunction against the protest song, filed on Monday, is Hong Kong’s latest effort to stamp out the remaining remnants of political discord in the city.
Background: Hong Kong has banned the song in schools. When it was played incorrectly instead of the Chinese national anthem at a rugby match in South Korea last year, the Hong Kong government demanded an investigation.
THE LAST NEWS
Around the world
The Grand Canyon seems like a place out of time. But the Colorado River, which flows through it, is in crisis: Climate change and the growing population in the West are draining it.
My colleague Raymond Zhong joined a rafting expedition to see the effects firsthand. Less water, he wrote, will mean big changes for the canyon, the beaches along the river, the rapids and the fish.
Lives Lived: Françoise Gilot began an affair with Pablo Picasso when she was 22 and he was 62. She became an accomplished painter and did something no other known lover of his had ever done: she eloped. She died at 101.
Barbs and stingers through the ages
When King Saul said, “Thou son of the perverted rebellious woman,” he was in fact using the Old Testament version of the well-known “you SOB.” In “Titus Andronicus,” Shakespeare used a similar barb: “Scoundrel, I have done thy mother.”
My colleague Deb Amlen dug up those tidbits, and more, as she explored the history of insults. She found that insults haven’t really evolved: they’re still deeply personal comments about someone’s status, appearance, sexual prowess or bravery — or lack thereof.
PLAY, WATCH, EAT
What to cook
Snap anchovies in here Pastasauce.
What to read
The actor Elliot Page reflects on his gender transition in his new memoir.
What to watch
“Falcon Lake” is an eerie tale of young summer love in the Quebec wilderness.
What to listen to
Check out these seven new songs.
Now time to play
Play the mini crossword and a clue: some beer (four letters).
Here are the Wordle and the Spelling Bee. You can find all our puzzles here.
That’s it for today’s briefing. See you tomorrow. — Amelia
PS Like Wordle? Try Wordle Golf.
“The Daily” is about a Times investigation into migrants left at sea by Greece.
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