Global Courant
The spike in air pollution is due to wildfires raging in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Nova Scotia. `
“A smoke band from wildfires in Quebec will linger today in eastern, central and southeastern Minnesota due to very light winds,” the statement said. Minnesota Pollution Control Agency tweeted Monday, adding that air quality should improve in the evening as thunderstorms help disperse smoke particles from the air.
Some 414 fires raged in Canada on Tuesday night 239 considered “out of control,“ according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center. The country is experiencing one of the worst wildfire season starts on record. By 2023, more than 6.7 million acres in the country have already burned, according to federal officials.
In Quebec, about 14,000 people were forced to evacuate and more than 150 fires are still raging in the province. according to CBC News. Farther east, in Nova Scotia, officials said Sunday that one wildfire was under control, but a second, covering nearly 100 square miles, was still burning out of control. That reports the Associated Press.
Smoke from wildfires in Canada drifts into New York State on June 6, 2023.NOAA
But firefighters also developed in the US. The National Weather Service’s Storm Forecast Center said Tuesday that “dry thunderstorms” — a common firestarter — could spark fires in the Mid-Atlantic. Gusts of wind can spread those fires and make them difficult to contain.
In recent days, smoke from the fires has drifted across the northeastern United States and settled in the Midwest. Warnings were issued in the regions of increased levels of air pollution, particularly for ‘sensitive groups’, including children, older adults and people with asthma and other pre-existing respiratory conditions.
Air pollution from wildfire smoke has become a significant health concern in the US and is getting worse. Stanford University researchers found that the number of people who experienced unhealthy air quality due to smoke for at least one day increased by 27 times over the past decade.
Tiny particles in smoke less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter—about 4% of the diameter of an average human hair—are of particular concern to air quality researchers.
“These are the particles that are small enough to inhale that can cause cardiovascular problems,” said Brett Palm, a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.
Exposure to this type of pollution can cause inflammation and weaken the immune system, especially when the tiny particles enter the lungs and enter the bloodstream. Particle contamination can increase the risk asthma, lung cancer or other chronic lung diseasesespecially in vulnerable groups such as the elderly, pregnant people, infants and children.
Exposure to smoke from wildfires can increase the risk of respiratory disease. Increases of COVID-19 And influenza have also been associated with smoke from wildfires.
