What Cities From Chicago to Washington, DC, Look Like Under a Blanket of Wildfire Smoke
Major cities across the US and Canada are experiencing hazardous air quality due to smoke drifting from intense wildfires in Minnesota and Ontario. Experts warn that climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of these events, posing significant long-term public health risks.
Why it matters
The increasing prevalence of wildfire smoke in urban centers highlights the tangible, immediate impact of climate change on public health and daily life.
Hot dogs, beach days, and iced tea on the porch are some of the rites of summer. But in an era of global warming, a new rite has emerged: choking down smoke from wildfires burning hundreds of miles or more away.
The Midwest, Northeast, and parts of Canada have been blitzed with thick smoke that turned skies an eerie shade of orange and triggered widespread air quality alerts. The source? Fires burning in Minnesota as well as western Ontario.
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