The large amount of smoke in the United States that has blown over from the wildfires in Canada threatens the health of more than 100 million Americans. This was announced by the US federal environmental protection agency (EPA) on Thursday. The organization has classified much of the air quality in the northeastern United States as unhealthy.
The EPA advises Americans with health problems to stay indoors and wear a face mask when they go outside, but residents who are not vulnerable are also warned about the poor air quality. New York will hand out more than a million free masks on Thursday and the mayor advises residents to “limit all outdoor activities as much as possible”. In several cities, schools are keeping their students indoors and zoos have moved all animals indoors.
150 wildfires are raging in the Canadian province of Quebec, leaving the air in Canadian cities and large parts of the east coast of the US very polluted. More than 15,000 residents of the province are expected to evacuate. More than 3.8 million hectares have already been burned – an area 12 times the average for the past ten years. Wednesday announced the US sending more than 600 firefighters to Canada to help fight the fires. Authorities in Canada say the country is gearing up for it worst wildfire season ever.