Northeastern leaders warned residents Wednesday to curtail outdoor activities because smoke from Canadian wildfires is wafting southward, resulting in a blanket of haze and poor air quality.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, urged city residents to limit outdoor activity “to the greatest extent possible” and said school kids will stay indoors for the day.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy made similar recommendations and tied the situation directly to climate change.
“As conditions worsen statewide, I strongly urge all sensitive individuals – including those with heart or lung disease, the elderly, and the young – to stay safe and limit strenuous activities and the amount of time active outdoors today,” said Mr. Murphy, a Democrat. “Make no mistake, from the wildfires in Canada to those cropping up with increasing frequency and severity in our own backyard, these extreme weather events are tangible – and devastating – evidence of the intensifying climate crisis.”
More than 100 wildfires are burning in the province of Quebec, causing a trickle-down effect that blanketed the Big Apple in hazy smoke late Tuesday. Its air quality reached “very unhealthy” levels.
The National Weather Service said Wednesday an advisory for the region would last until midnight because “fine particulates within the region may approach or exceed unhealthy standards.”
The poor air quality stretched as far west as Minnesota and stretched south to the Beltway region.
“Please limit outdoor time today with the poor air quality,” tweeted D.C. Council member Charles Allen, Ward 6 Democrat. “I’m also told that D.C. Public Schools will be suspending outdoor activities today to help limit exposure to the smoke-filled air for kids.”
On Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer said the smog blanketing the Northeast should be a wake-up call for climate efforts.
The New York Democrat applauded his party for including climate provisions in President Biden’s tax and climate law last year but said lawmakers should speed the transition to wind and solar energy given the hazy evidence in front of them.
“These Canadian wildfires are truly unprecedented and we cannot ignore that climate change continues to make these disasters worse. Warmer temperatures and severe droughts mean forests burn faster, burn hotter and burn bigger, and the warming is happening at a faster pace in countries with higher latitudes,” he said.
“None of this is a coincidence.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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