This Wednesday, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and because of the smoke caused by fires in Canada, more than 100 million Americans were affected by air quality alerts. Cities like New York and Washington were on red alert, a level at which the general population can feel health effects.
More than 100 million Americans were affected Wednesday by air quality alerts due to smoke from fires in Canada, the environmental protection agency (EPA) told AFP. . These alerts concern most of the northeastern United States, from Chicago in the north to Atlanta in the south. Air quality in this area “is primarily impacted by Canadian fires, although other local pollution emissions and weather may also play a role,” the EPA said.
New York and Washington on red alert
The populations concerned are under an “orange” alert, corresponding to a possible impact on the health of fragile people (elderly people, asthmatics, children, etc.), or an alert of a higher level. Many major cities, such as New York and Washington, were on Wednesday affected by a red alert, a level at which the general population can also feel the effects on their health, effects then aggravated for the fragile.
The EPA is the agency responsible for monitoring air quality in the United States, and uses an index ranging from zero to 500. Between 0 and 50, the air quality is considered good. The orange alert corresponds to a level above 100.