Chicago’s skyline covered with wildfire smoke on Tuesday.Photo:KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty
KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty
Smoke from the Canadian wildfires is once again impacting millions in the United Sates.
The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre reported that as of Wednesday, there were 483 active fires in Canada, which is currently experiencing its worst fire season on record, according toCBS News. Additionally, 253 of those fires were burning “out of control.”
Over80 million peopleare currently under air quality alerts across the Midwest and the East Coast, perCNN.
Air quality warnings have been issued for all of Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Delaware, and Maryland in addition to parts of Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia and North Carolina, the National Weather Service reported.
Just a few weeks after New York City experienced theworst air pollution in the world,turning the city skyline orange, the state is once again under air quality health advisories on Wednesday and Thursday.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
As of Wednesday morning, New York City’s air quality was 56, which is regarded as “moderate,” while major cities like Chicago — which had the worst air quality in the world on Tuesday, according to IQAir.com — are experiencing “very unhealthy” air conditions, perNBC News.
As it did on Tuesday, Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications encouraged people to limit their time outside, particularly children, teenagers, the elderly, people with heart or lung conditions and those who are pregnant.
Such precautions are necessary because the particulate pollutants in wildfire smoke are made up of solids like soot and dirt that can travel deep into lung tissue and into the bloodstream, perthe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The National Weather Serviceadvises staying inside whenever possible, especially if you have respiratory issues or other health issues, limiting the time outside to strictly necessary activities and refraining from burning debris or other items while an alert is in effect.
source: people.com
