A toxic air and a fiery sun. The daily life of the inhabitants of New York was very different from other days this Tuesday, due to the forest fires which are currently ravaging Canada, particularly the east of the country, reports the HuffPost.
At daybreak, New Yorkers were able to see the equivalent of a ball of fire as the sun rise between the skyscrapers of Manhattan. The entire sky was tinged with an orange-red glow, as seen in a video shared on Twitter by public health doctor Lucky Tran, which has been viewed nearly 490,000 times.
A dramatic situation in Canada
The post-apocalyptic vision was accompanied by a thick, acrid haze that made it impossible to see the tops of downtown buildings. Smoke from the fires in Canada has dramatically degraded air quality in New York, prompting authorities to issue some guidelines to residents.
The most fragile people (children, adults over 65, people with heart or lung disorders) were thus invited to stay at home. Lucky Tran also advised New Yorkers to wear a mask to protect themselves from particles, which are very harmful to health. Poor air quality will persist in the city through the end of the week, according to Fox News meteorologists.
Canada is currently plagued by 425 active wildfires, more than half of which are out of control, recalls the HuffPost. The states of Quebec and Nova Scotia have been particularly affected in recent days. The fires have already burned more than 10 million hectares and caused the evacuation or displacement of more than 100,000 inhabitants.