New York, Toronto and Ottawa authorities have warned residents about the possible health risks from air polluted by smoke from early-summer unprecedented wildfires in eastern Canada.
An unusually intense start to the wildfire season has put Canada up its worst-ever year, as warm and dry conditions have been predicted to persist for months.
There are blazes in almost all of Canada’s 10 provinces and territories, with Quebec the worst hit due to multiple fires induced by lightning.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has issued a health advisory for counties including New York, the Bronx and Queens.
While issuing the health advisory, the state urged residents to consider limiting strenuous outdoor physical activity so as to reduce the risk of adverse health effects.
Ottawa was covered in haze recently with air quality in category 10+, the worst level on Environment Canada’s Air Quality Health Index, which indicates “very high risk.”
In air quality alert for Ottawa, Environmental Canada said: “Smoke plumes from local forest fires as well as forest fires in Quebec have resulted in deteriorated air quality.”
The agency also said wildfire smoke can harm health even at low concentrations, and people with heart or lung diseases, as well as older adults, children, and pregnant women, are at higher health risk from wildfire smoke.
Foreign Minister Melanie Joly recently thanked the United States, Mexico, South Africa and France for sending in firefighters to help.
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