Canadian Wildfires So Bad That NYC's Air Is Code Red

And a lot of other places have hazy air quality as Canada suffers its worst start to season on record
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 6, 2023 1:05 PM CDT
Canadian Wildfires Have NYC in 'Code Red' Air Quality
Smoke from wildfires hangs over Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, June 6, 2023.   (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

Well, this is one thing we apparently can blame Canada for: Wildfires so out of control that the air quality in New York is under a code red warning. As Fox News reports, our neighbor to the north is currently battling some 425 wildfires from coast to coast—with more than half of them out of control—taking up a total area about the size of Connecticut. The subsequent smoke drift over the border is so bad that health officials are warning people who have breathing issues to stay inside.

And while the Northeast may be taking the brunt of it, NBC News notes that smokey skies are running from the Ohio Valley all the way south to the Carolinas. It's one of the worst starts in history to Canada's fire season, which typically runs through September, and Fox reports that about 100,000 have been evacuated. It's not just the air quality: USA Today notes that six US states are under a red flag warning Tuesday in which outdoor burning of any sort is not advised due to hot, dry conditions. Those states include Alaska, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Alaska. (More wildfires stories.)

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