Smoke from Canadian wildfires poured into the U.S. East Coast and Midwest on June 7, covering the capitals of both nations in an unhealthy haze
The devastating wildfires in Canada raging from the western provinces to Atlantic Canada have displaced more than 20,000 people and scorched about 3.8 million hectares of land prompting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to describe this wildfire season as the country’s worst ever.
Smoke from Canadian wildfires poured into the U.S. East Coast and Midwest on June 7, covering the capitals of both nations in an unhealthy haze, holding up flights at major airports and prompting people to fish out pandemic-era face masks.
The causes and consequences of this wildfire on our environment is a huge cause for concern. According to World Meteorological Organization (WMO), there is a greater chance that global warming will rise above the threshold levels of 1.5°C. UN has even warned that the next five years will be the hottest ever. Will climate change be mankind’s apocalyptic story that concludes in extinction?
A smoke column rises from wildfire EWF031 near Lodgepole, Alberta, Canada on May 4, 2023. Canada is seeing its worst-ever start to wildfire season as blazes burn from the western provinces to Atlantic Canada.
View from the Benjamin Franklin Bridge over the Delaware River between Pennsylvania and New Jersey as haze and smoke caused by wildfires in Canada hang over the Philadelphia skyline in Pennsylvania, U.S. on June 8, 2023. Smoke from Canadian wildfires have shrouded the US East Coast in a record-breaking smog, forcing cities to issue air pollution warnings and thousands of Canadians to evacuate their homes.
The Statue of Liberty is covered in haze and smoke caused by wildfires in Canada, in New York, U.S. on June 6, 2023. The polluted air can cause degradation of monuments due to the corrosive nature of the pollutants involved.
Climate activists, seen through fumes, protest while smoke and haze caused by wildfires in Canada pass through New York, in New York, U.S., June 8, 2023. The present predicament looming over U.S. and Canada have slowly but surely opened the eyes of the people to the realities of climate change and the vagaries of nature.
Traffic crosses the Benjamin Franklin Bridge over the Delaware River between Pennsylvania and New Jersey as haze and smoke caused by wildfires in Canada hang over the Philadelphia skyline in Pennsylvania, U.S. on June 8, 2023. According to United States Environmental Protection Agency, a typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, which increases global warming and subsequent disaster events.
Source: The Hindu
