Air quality: Noxious smoke eases over US but wildfires still major threat in Canada

Experts estimate that each hour of exposure to wildfire smoke is equivalent to smoking cigarettes continuously for the same amount of time, but that’s just for humans. Poor air quality may pose an even greater risk to animals because of their much smaller size.

My colleague Meredith Clark has these tips on protecting your pets from wildfire smoke as air quality alerts continue throughout New York.

Air quality alerts were issued for much of the eastern seaboard again on Thursday as wildfire smoke continues to drift south from wildfires raging out of control in Canada. Some of the worst air quality in the US is currently in parts of Pennsylvania, around Philadelphia, along with Wilmington, Delaware; Baltimore, Maryland; and Washington DC. At 9am in New York City, the air was classed as “Very Unhealthy” on the Air Quality Index (AQI) - the system used by public officials to monitor air pollution. The sky is still thick with clouds but the sun appeared a little more visible than on Wednesday when the city was immersed in a dank, orangey soup.

Members of the Marine Corps practice for an upcoming parade under skies filled with smoke near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC on Thursday morning.

DC issued a rare code purple air quality alert as a result of the smoke, which is affecting large portions of the northeastern United States (Credit: EPA/Jim Lo Scalzo)

Jodie Comer ended her one-woman show, Prima Facie, early on Wednesday due to the “hazardous” air quality in New York caused by smoke billowing south from Canada’s devastating wildfires.

An audience member at the matinee production of Prima Facie at the John Golden Theatre told Deadline that Comer appeared on stage 10 minutes late.

Just a few minutes later, the Killing Eve star left, reportedly telling a stage manager: “I can’t breathe in this air.”

Tom Murray has more below

New York made 1 million N95 masks available on Thursday that can be picked up at state facilities.

Some 400,000 will be distributed at public transit hubs including Port Authority in Manhattan.

They will also be handed out at New York state parks and the Javits Center on the west side of Manhattan.

President Joe Biden announced on Wedneday that he was sending more than 600 US firefighters and support personnel, along with equipment, to help Canada tackle its more than 400 wildfires.

The president noted that wildfires “are intensifying because of the climate crisis”.

He also advised that Americans experiencing dangerous air pollution, especially those with health conditions, take steps to protect themselves.

Washington DC was under “Code Purple” on Thursday as air quality dropped to very unhealthy, and hazardous, conditions.

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered schools to cancel outdoor recess, sports and field trips.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) - used to measure air pollution - hit 293, according to the government monitor AirNow.gov.

It meant that unhealthy conditions for the general population but particularly those with underlying health issues.

The AQI runs from 0-500 with “satisfactory” air quality somewhere in the 0-50 range.

People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens were advised to avoid physical activities outdoors.

In general, people were advise to avoid strenuous outdoor activities and keep outdoor activities short.

On air quality maps, purple signifies the worst of it. In reality, it’s a thick, hazardous haze that’s disrupting daily life for millions of people across the U.S. and Canada, blotting out skylines and turning skies orange, The Associated Press reports.

And with weather systems expected to hardly budge, the smoky blanket billowing from wildfires in Quebec and Nova Scotia and sending plumes of fine particulate matter as far away as North Carolina and northern Europe should persist into Thursday and possibly the weekend.

That means at least another day, or more, of a dystopian-style detour that’s chased players from ballfields, actors from Broadway stages, delayed thousands of flights and sparked a resurgence in mask wearing and remote work — all while raising concerns about the health effects of prolonged exposure to such bad air.

The weather system that’s driving the great Canadian-American smoke out — a low-pressure system over Maine and Nova Scotia — “will probably be hanging around at least for the next few days,” U.S. National Weather Service meteorologist Bryan Ramsey said.

“Conditions are likely to remain unhealthy, at least until the wind direction changes or the fires get put out,” Ramsey said. “Since the fires are raging — they’re really large — they’re probably going to continue for weeks. But it’s really just going be all about the wind shift.”

The Associated Press