According to CNN, about 75 million Americans are affected by the warnings of unhealthy or downright dangerous air quality, from Boston on the East Coast to Saint Louis in the middle of the country. The lowest level is orange warning, which means the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.
The threshold value for unhealthy air is 100 on a 500-degree scale. In New York, the index reading in the afternoon local time was 332 – twice as high as Delhi and Lahore, according to Swiss IQAir.
The pollution has led to delayed or canceled flights and canceled outdoor activities in schools. Two baseball games in New York and Philadelphia have also been canceled.
One million respirators are distributed
New York State Governor Kathy Hochul urged residents during the day to only go outside if they had to.
The state is to distribute one million N-95 respirators at subway stations, in parks and directly to the municipalities, writes The New York Times.
Canadian Health Minister Bill Blair said on Wednesday according to BBC that 414 forest and land fires are raging in various parts of the country, of which 239 are out of control.
The province of Quebec in eastern Canada is among the hardest hit. According to Quebec Premier Francois Legault, 150 fires are raging in the province, but the roughly 500 firefighters cannot fight more than 40 fires at a time.
More than 20,000 residents have been forced to leave their homes, especially in northern Quebec.