The Canadian province of Quebec impatiently awaited the arrival of reinforcements to fight some virulent fires whose smoke covered New York and other parts of the United States from an apocalyptic fog.
(Also read: In photos: New York is covered in smoke due to the forest fires in Canada)
The devastating fires in this country, now concentrated in this French-speaking province, have caused the evacuation of more than 20,000 people and so far this year have destroyed almost 3.8 million hectares. With 150 active fires, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described this fire season as the worst in its history and warned that resources “are at the limit.”
Smoke from the fire reached the northeastern United States and spread as far west as Chicago and as far south as Atlanta, prompting the Environmental Protection Agency to issue advisories over an area with more than 100 million people.
The thick toxic coating shrouded the Statue of Liberty and the Big Apple’s skyscrapers in an orange-brown glow, delayed flights and forced the postponement of sporting events.
The masks, vestiges of the pandemic, appeared again on the streets. “It smells like someone is having a barbecue,” said Nicha Suaittiyanon, a 30-year-old tourist from Thailand, her eyes teary.
On the banks of the East River, retired attorney Jack Wright explained that the pollution made him “cough all day.” “I quit smoking 50 years ago, but it’s the kind of cough I had when I smoked,” he told AFP.
The New York mayor, Eric Adams, recommended that the population avoid activity abroad for “absolute necessity.” “This is not the day to train for a marathon.”
IQAir.com, which monitors air quality around the world, said New York had the worst level of pollution of any city on the planet. This event is “another worrying sign of how the climate crisis affects our lives,” said White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre.
AFP
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