![]() ![]() “It’s a good example of how complex the climate system is but also how connected it is,” Ford said. ![]() Trent Ford, the state climatologist in Illinois, said the atmospheric conditions in the upper midwest creating dry, warm weather made it possible for small particulates to travel hundreds of miles from the Canadian wildfires and linger for days. “When those particles get down into the respiratory space, they cause the body to have an inflammatory reaction to them.” A cyclist wears a mask due to poor air quality in Ottawa on 6 June. These are sort of the right size to get past those defenses,” said Dr David Hill, a pulmonologist in Waterbury, Connecticut, and a member of the American Lung Association’s national board of directors. “We have defenses in our upper airway to trap larger particles and prevent them from getting down into the lungs. What’s the biggest concern?Īir-quality alerts are triggered by a number of factors, including the detection of fine-particle pollution – known as “PM 2.5” – which can irritate the lungs. And they followed wildfires in Nova Scotia, which resulted in a short-lived air-quality alert on 30 May, Austin said. ![]() The Quebec-area fires are big and relatively close, about 500 to 600 miles (roughly 800 to 970km) away from Rhode Island. But the smoke usually has been aloft higher in the atmosphere, not affecting people’s health, he said. It’s very typical in terms of north-west Canada,” said Darren Austin, a meteorologist and senior air-quality specialist with the Rhode Island department of environmental management. “It’s not unusual for us to get fire smoke in our area. The EPA said hazy skies, reduced visibility and the odor of burning wood are likely, and that the smoke will linger for a few days in New England. The most recent fires near Quebec have been burning for at least several days. Smoke from Canada’s wildfires has been moving into the United States since last month. Here’s a look at what you need to know at a glance: What’s happening? Last week, US officials as far south as Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania reported being affected by the wildfires. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday issued a poor air-quality alert for New England, a day after parts of Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota received a similar advisory. The reckoning that wasn’t: how the largest US power firm avoided a trial for a deadly wildfire Wind has carried smoke from the fires southward, triggering air-quality alerts throughout the United States. Canada is dealing with a series of intense wildfires that have spread from the western provinces to Quebec, with hundreds of forest fires burning. ![]()
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