An orange light with the air of the apocalypse which now reaches Norway. An episode of rare air pollution that affects more than a hundred million Americans, public schools closed in New York and smoke that emanates as far as Norway: the fires continue to rage on Friday in Canada, which is experiencing a historic season.
Large fires occurred particularly early this year in Quebec, and their smoke is pushed south due to weather conditions, but also east, thousands of kilometers away, in Norway. “Very low” concentrations of smoke particles have been measured since Monday, in particular at the Birkenes station in the south of the country, researcher Nikolaos Evangeliou, from the Norwegian Institute for Climate and Environmental Research, told AFP. (NILU).
However, the measurements vary and “we do not see a serious peak or a significant increase (…) We therefore do not see any environmental problem (in Norway) nor any serious health risk”, warned the researcher.
New York is better, Washington is not.
In the United States, in the capital Washington, the situation was even worse on Thursday than the day before. An event celebrating LGBT+ pride month, which was to take place outside the White House on Thursday evening, has been postponed, as has a professional baseball game.
The concern mainly concerns the health of fragile people, such as children, the elderly or those with heart or respiratory problems. Emergency room visits related to asthma attacks are on the rise in New York City, a spokesperson for the city’s health department said. On Wednesday, impressive images of New York bathed in orange light circulated, before the sky was clearer on Thursday.
With nearly 800,000 hectares affected by the fires, according to the authorities, Quebec is experiencing an already historic season. Twice as many fire starts have been recorded since January compared to the average at this time over the past 10 years.