Historic Wildfires in Canada Blanket Eastern US in Smoke, Reaching Florida

Здания в Джерси-Сити частично скрытые дымом от лесных пожаров в Канаде

The relentless and unusually long-lasting wildfire season has seen wildfire smoke travel into the deep US southeast, a region that had until now remained largely untouched by the environmental crisis.People along the US Eastern Seaboard woke up to a surreal scene on Tuesday as they were greeted by hazy skies, a consequence of the relentless wildfire smoke originating from Canada. The 2023 wildfire season has proven to be both historic and unusually persistent, with the smoke’s reach most recently extending as far south as Florida, a region that had thus far avoided the consequences of the Canadian wildfires.Air quality in many parts of the Florida peninsula took a hit, with AirNow.gov, the Environmental Protection Agency’s air monitoring website, reporting code orange and code red levels of smoke pollution. Code orange signifies unhealthy conditions for sensitive groups, while code red indicates unhealthy conditions for everyone.AmericasOver 400 Wildfires Burning in Canada, 213 ‘Out of Control’ – Emergency Preparedness Chief22 June 2023, 22:11 GMTNotably, both of the Sunshine State’s Orlando and Jacksonville cities experienced code red air quality levels, which even reached as far south as Palm Beach County. The milky haze also obscured skies in Miami and Homestead.However, the smoke has also affected regions in the northeast and Mid-Atlantic, with the highest smoke concentrations being observed near the coast and along the Interstate 95 corridor.