East Coast cities put air quality warnings in place as wildfire travels south
Several cities, towns and areas on the US east coast have air quality warnings in place as smoke from Canadian wildfires moves south.
A number of 'hazardous' air quality index (AQI) warnings are listed across the eastern part of the country by the Fire and Smoke Map.
Hazardous cities and areas include the town of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, home to 12,000 people along with the city of Scranton.
People in hazardous areas are advised to avoid all physical activity.
There are hundreds of warnings for 'very unhealthy' to 'unhealthy' alerts from as far north in Senneterre, Quebec and as far south as Kitty Haw in North Carolina with warnings varying in severity along the east coast of the US between the two.
Holiday family return to find everything they own - even cat - destroyed in fire
Unhealthy warnings litter the east coast (Fire and Smoke Map)New York City residents were issued an advisory alert earlier today as the air quality rose to hazardous levels.
Governor Kathy Hochul warned the public to “prepare for this over the long haul," and New York City Mayor Eric Adams told residents to limit outdoor activities as much as possible.
Adams confirmed yesterday that schools would remain open but will not "offer any outdoor activities" as conditions "are expected to deteriorate further".
President Biden has been briefed (Getty Images)President Joe Biden has reportedly been briefed on the situation and has offered support to Canada in its attempts to contain the fires.
So where in the US is currently suffering hazardous air quality levels?
New Jersey
Morris Plains
Pennsylvania
The following areas have hazardous warnings in place:
- Scranton
- Hop Bottom
- Montrose
- Bridgewater Township
- Mouth Bethel
- Lansdale
- Bloomsburg
- Williamsport
A vehicle damaged by a wildfire is seen in Hammond's Plains, Nova Scotia, Canada (Canadian Press/REX/Shutterstock)New York
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The following areas have hazardous warnings in place:
- Pinnacle State Park
- Cortlandville
- Liverpool
- Elbridge
- Pittsford
- Whitesboro
- Syracuse
- Croghan
Please note the areas listed above were correct at the time of writing. For the latest on smoke in your area, visit the AirNow website by clicking here.
“I can taste the air,” Dr Ken Strumpf said in a Facebook post from Syracuse, New York, which was enveloped in an amber pall. The smoke, he said, even made him a bit dizzy.
'I can taste the air' one person has said as smoke travels down from areas like Nova Scotia (pictured) (AP)Nanny Meagan Bobb in Brooklyn Park, New York City said she was surprised by how bad the air was.
“The little girl was coughing, and I was having problems breathing when I was walking around, so we’re looking to go inside somewhere soon,” Bobb said.
In Canada, 400 blazes nationwide have already displaced 20,000 people.
Canadian officials say this is shaping up to be the nation's worst wildfire season ever. It started early on drier-than-usual ground and accelerated very quickly, exhausting firefighting resources across the country, fire and environmental officials said.
Smoke from the blazes in various parts of the country has been lapping into the U.S. since last month but intensified with a recent spate of fires in Quebec, where more than 100 were burning and considered out of control Tuesday.
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