The United States recorded its worst toxic air pollution in recent history, with New York particularly exposed to hazardous air, researchers have found, even as Canada races against time to tame the “historic” wildfires emanating from Quebec.
According to Guardian, New York experienced air pollution which was more than five times above the national air quality standard and has been dubbed the worst since 2006.
An initial analysis presented by Stanford’s Environmental Change and Human Outcomes Lab showed that an average person in the US was on Wednesday exposed to 27.5 micrograms of small particulate pollution from smoke. That’s compared to 17.5 micrograms during California’s epically bad wildfires in 2020, the Guardian reported.
“It’s the worst by far, I mean, Jesus, it was bad,” Marshall Burke, an environmental scientist at Stanford University who led the work, told the Guardian.
“It’s hard to believe to be honest, we had to quadruple-check it to see if it was right. We have not seen events like this, or even close to this, on the east coast before. This is a historic event.”
New York City blanketed in eerie veil of smoke from Canada wildfires
This small particulate matter, also known as PM 2.5, carries tiny particles of soot, dust and other burned debris, and when inhaled, can cause a variety of health conditions.
Residents urged to shun outdoor activities
In New York, where the sky turned into an apocalyptic orange hue over the course of the day, the particulate matter hit around 195 micrograms, more than five times above the national air quality standard. Many schools even completely shut outdoor activities for children and people were seen donning masks outside not worn since the early days of the pandemic
“The levels yesterday were quite dangerous, particularly if you are in a vulnerable group,” said Burke, adding that this includes vast swathes of people such as the elderly, children, pregnant women and those with prior medical conditions.
“I expect we will see an uptick in respiratory hospitalisations, pre-term births and, sadly, mortalities.”
As New York City anticipates the thick, smoky haze to last for several more days, health officials have rolled out a list of safety measures to take as widespread fires continue to scorch the land in Quebec.
Apart from asking residents to wear high-quality N95s or KN95s masks, health officials are urging residents to keep windows closed, use an air purifier if possible, and if an air conditioner is on, close the fresh air intake to prevent outdoor air from entering inside homes.
(With inputs from agencies)
