Due to poor air quality levels caused by major wildfires in Canada, millions of people in North America have been urged to wear N95 masks outside.
On Thursday, the city of New York will begin distributing free masks. If people are unable to stay indoors, Canada has advised them to wear masks.
The haze is likely to extend beyond New York to other areas along the East Coast.
The dangerously hazy conditions are expected to last over the weekend, according to officials.
The majority of the smoke is coming from Quebec, where 150 fires are now burning. It is already the worst fire season on record in Quebec.
“The smoke is affecting cities all along the East Coast…”I’ve been told that nearly 100 million people are experiencing very, very poor air quality as a direct result of the smoke from these wildfires,” Bill Blair, Canada’s Minister of Emergency Preparedness, told the BBC’s Newshour.
People in various cities across the United States, including Philadelphia and other portions of Pennsylvania, awoke Thursday to severe air quality conditions. Other areas of the United States, including significant swaths of the Midwest and South, are also under air quality warnings.
On Thursday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said that one million masks would be distributed to people.
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“This is a one-time occurrence.” “This is not Covid,” she stated during a press conference. The governor also stated that New York City buses and trains have high-quality air filtering systems, making them safe modes of transportation.
Nicha Suaittiyanon, a 30-year-old Thai tourist visiting New York City, told AFP that the weather was making her eyes uncomfortable and runny. “It smells like someone is doing a barbecue,” she remarked.
On Thursday, Environment Canada reported that conditions in Toronto were worsening as additional smoke poured in.
Anyone going outside should wear a mask, according to the agency.
“In general, fine particles pose the greatest risk to health.” Respirators, on the other hand, do not minimize exposure to the gases in wildfire smoke,” according to an Environment Canada statement.
