Schools without outdoor activities
New York schools have canceled outdoor activities due to poor air quality due to smoke and ashes from wildfires enveloping the city. The mayor of the Big Apple, Eric Adams, urges residents to limit the time spent outdoors to avoid harmful smoke. We also recommend theuse of mask. During these hours the sun appears as an orange disc and the air smells of burnt wood.
In New York where on a clear day the skyscrapers can be seen for miles away they are now invisible.
According to forecasts from the National Weather Service, the problem will not be resolved soon: The Northeast is in a position where the smoke will continue to ebb and flow with the same thickness and intensity.
In Quebec the heart of the fires
Most of the smoke comes from the Quebec, where 160 fires are in progress. Canadian officials say the country is about to face its worst wildfire season on record. Experts blamed a hotter and drier than normal spring as the cause of the fires. These climatic conditions are expected to continue throughout the summer.
On June 6, Environment Canada issued a high-level alert for air quality in Ottawa, with a “very high risk” to public health. In Toronto and surrounding areas, the air quality was instead classified as “high risk”.