Authorities in New York warned of the possibility of orange smoke in the area today and tomorrow due to new forest fires in Canada.
Air quality in the tri-state area that includes New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut is affected by these systems in the border country.
The governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, issued an air quality health advisory for this Wednesday for the Eastern Lake Ontario, central and western regions of the state.
“If you want to know the effects of climate change, you will feel it tomorrow (today) in real time,” the official anticipated at a conference this Tuesday. “This is not something we are talking about that future generations will have to deal with. We are the first generation to deal with the real effects of climate change and we are also the last generation to do something meaningful about it,” she said.
The notice from the authorities indicates that the impact in the air could extend until tomorrow, Thursday.
The situation would lead to air quality reaching “very unhealthy” and “dangerous” levels.
Forecasts suggest that the change could affect people’s outdoor activities.
Hundreds of thousands of N95 masks will be distributed, mainly at Subway stations.
“We continue to closely monitor the conditions and we will be distributing masks in the regions impacted by the smoke. I encourage all New Yorkers to keep abreast of the latest information to take the appropriate steps to protect their health,” the official added.
For his part, the mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, said that the worst day for the area will be this Wednesday.
Adams added that they will constantly update the information and that residents can access the data through airnow.gov and nyc.gov/notify.
More than 300 fires continue to burn in Canada. Not only eastern areas suffer the impact; the Great Lakes region and parts of the center of the country also experience polluted air.
In Minnesota, a record was broken this Tuesday with the 23rd air quality alert. In the case of cities like Minneapolis and St. Paul since yesterday the sky was covered in smoke.
In cities like Chicago, Illinois, authorities have advised people, particularly those with health problems, to stay at home as much as possible.
Keep reading:
The reasons for the toxic smoke coming from Canada
“Smells horrible like we have a fire going”