SÃO PAULO, SP (FOLHAPRESS) – The orange haze caused by wildfires in Canada settled this Thursday (8) over a large area of ​​​​the eastern United States, raising concerns about the impact of respiratory problems. According to the authorities, the situation will remain critical at least until Sunday (11).

In an attempt to contain the crisis, US President Joe Biden said he ordered US emergency agencies to respond quickly to requests for help from the neighboring country to fight the blazes. Canada has been battling a wildfire season and smoke from the blaze has drifted south this week to some of the region’s most populated cities.

“I have asked you to respond quickly to requests for additional firefighters and firefighting assets such as tanker aircraft,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House. The United States sent 600 firefighters on Thursday to help the Canadian government fight the wildfires.

The US National Weather Service on Thursday extended poor air quality warnings for the East Coast and inland regions, including Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. The most critical situation, however, was that of the American capital, Washington.

The capital’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, has announced a series of measures to restrict the movement of people due to “very unhealthy” air quality. All city parks have been closed. A live concert and outdoor movie screening that was scheduled for downtown Franklin Park has been canceled. The National Zoo was unable to receive visitors and professional baseball games were postponed. “The issue is likely to continue or worsen this Friday,” Bowser said on social media.

Health officials have highlighted warnings that spending too much time outdoors can cause respiratory problems due to high levels of fine particles in the atmosphere. In New York, a faint smell of burning wood lingered, even when the smoke partially cleared during the day.

Fog and low visibility forced aviation authorities to cancel dozens of flights to major airports in New York and Philadelphia for the second day in a row. In New Jersey, all trips to Newark airport have been delayed.

Schools on the US East Coast have once again suspended outdoor activities, including sports and recess. The White House has already postponed LGBTQIA+ Pride Month celebrations to Saturday – this Thursday’s event was expected to be one of the biggest in history.

It was the worst wildfire smoke blanketing the US East Coast in more than 20 years, according to the AccuWeather weather forecasting service. Peter Mullinax, a National Weather Service official, said the critical situation is expected to remain at least until Sunday, when there is a chance of rain and drafts that could change the direction of the winds.

The situation also remains critical in Canada, where more than 20,000 people have had to be evacuated from their homes due to the fires. More than half of the affected population is in Quebec. Thursday, the government was preparing to withdraw 4,000 others. “The more time passes, the greater the challenge,” said provincial premier François Legault. “With the troops we have, we can cover around 40 fires at the same time, but there are 150 active. We must prioritize what is urgent,” he added.

Since the beginning of the year, 438 fires have been recorded in Quebec, compared to an average of 200 for the same period of the last ten years. The number of hectares burned at this time of year is also well above average, according to authorities.

Canada has faced extreme weather events in recent years, which have increased in intensity and frequency due to climate change, experts say. The fires ravaging the country and the United States are “another disturbing sign of how the climate crisis is affecting our lives,” said White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre.

Essay / Folhapress