Noin a message released Wednesday, Trudeau said there were other American firefighters “en route” to Canada and said he spoke by phone with the President of the United States, Joe Biden.

“I thanked you for all the help that the Americans are providing as we continue to fight these devastating fires,” added the head of the Canadian government, on the social network Twitter.

In a statement on Wednesday, the White House confirmed that Biden had offered to help Canada fight the “devastating and historic” wildfires.

“The President has instructed his team to use all federal firefighting resources that can help quickly extinguish the fires affecting Canadian and North American communities,” the statement said.

In addition to Canadian cities, parts of the United States, including New York, entered a state of alert on Wednesday due to air pollution, which led to schools closing recess and outdoor sports. .

Canada was battling more than 400 active fires as of Tuesday, with the largest share in the province of Quebec. The country has recorded 2,293 forest fires this year and about 3.8 million hectares burned, above the average for the past few decades.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault announced on Monday that the province is awaiting the arrival of 200 firefighters specializing in fighting forest fires from France and the United States and that it is in talks with other other countries, such as Costa Rica and Chile, to send more. staff if necessary.

Legault recommended that people in the province close their windows and avoid outdoor physical activities, especially people who suffer from respiratory problems.

Justin Trudeau said climate change was the reason for the increase in the number of large fires, which “affect daily routines, lives and livelihoods and our air quality”.

“We will continue to work – here at home and with partners around the world – to address climate change and its impacts,” Trudeau pledged.

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres also took to social media to recall that “half of humanity is in the danger zone of forest fires and other extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts and extreme storms”.

“With rising global temperatures, the need to quickly reduce the risk of wildfires is more critical than ever. We are running out of time to make peace with nature, but we cannot give up,” the Portuguese concluded. .

Also read: Fires in Canada leave New York with an orange haze. look now