Canadian wildfires prompt hazy skies, air quality warnings
Officials are warning of high levels of air pollution as hundreds of fires rage across Canada in a record start to the fire season.
Smoke from more than 150 wildfires burning in Canada’s province of Quebec has created “milky” and hazy skies in parts of Ontario and the northeastern United States, prompting authorities to warn of poor air quality.
The Environment Canada government agency has issued a “special air quality.” rack on Tuesday for the capital Ottawa and Toronto, the nation’s largest city, warned that “high levels of air pollution have emerged due to smoke from wildfires.”
“Smoke plumes from local wildfires and wildfires in Quebec have led to deteriorating air quality. Poor air quality could continue for most of this week,” the agency said said.
Have you noticed that the sky looks milky in the northeast and mid-Atlantic? The milky color is actually caused by smoke from Canadian wildfires🔥
The smoke has led to poor air quality in some regions. In the center and top of this gif you can see some fires in Quebec. pic.twitter.com/Ks0pIYfDta– NWS Weather Forecast Center (@NWSWPC) June 6, 2023
Quebec is the latest part of Canada to experience widespread wildfires, as the western areas of British Columbia, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, as well as Nova Scotia and New Brunswick on the east coast, have reported numerous fires in recent weeks.
The smoke from the Canadian fires has also prompted air quality alerts in the US Midwest, including parts of Minnesota And Wisconsin.
Bill Blair, Canada’s emergency preparedness minister, said on Monday there were 413 wildfires raging across the country, 249 of which were deemed uncontrollable.
“I have to admit that the images we’ve seen so far this season are some of the most serious ever seen in Canada,” Blair told reporters. “And the current forecast for the coming months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.”
Thousands of Quebec residents have been evacuated in recent days. By Tuesday morning, there were more than 150 wildfires in the province alone the provincial fire service, SOPFEU
More than 265,700 hectares (656,500 acres) have burned so far this year in Quebec’s “intensive fire zone,” SOPFEU said on its website — versus a 10-year average of 297 hectares (733 acres) on the same date.
Prime Minister Francois Legault told reporters many residents could return to their homes on Tuesday, but the province’s battle to contain the fires would continue.
A fire near the Moisie River in the eastern part of the Cote-Nord in eastern Quebec, dubbed Fire 378, “will take weeks to be fully extinguished,” Legault said.
“If we look at the situation across Quebec, there are situations that are still concerning,” he added.
Experts have pointed out that climate change is exacerbating the size and scope of wildfires in Canada and around the world, as high temperatures and other factors lead to earlier and more destructive fire seasons.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a news conference this week that Canada could experience “an especially tough wildfire season” this year.
Members of the Canadian military have been deployed to help fight the wildfires after requests for federal aid were approved in Alberta, Nova Scotia and Quebec, Trudeau told reporters Monday.
“Year after year, with climate change, we see wildfires getting more intense and in places where they don’t normally occur. That is why we have invested to train more local firefighters across the country,” he added.