As we enter a second day of choking smoke blanketing the region, the number one question on many people’s is: When will all of this end?
The answer, unfortunately, isn’t so simple.
Smoke from wildfires Canada has been sweeping into the US since last month, but has gotten extremely bad since recent fires broke out in Quebec, where about 100 wildfires were still considered to be out of control as of Wednesday. Ironically, Wednesday was also National Clean Air Day in Canada. I guess it’s clean if all the smoke is being sent to the US…
Regardless, the US has sent more than 600 firefighters to help battle the more than 400 blazes our northern neighbor is dealing with, and President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau discussed efforts to battle the adverse and “address the devastating impacts of climate change.”
Meteorologists expect that the smoky, hazy conditions could get a little better in the next day or two thanks to rain forecast for the northeast, but that relief will come quickly as soon as those wildfires in Canada are brought under control.
That said, the intensity of the smoke is expected to decrease on Thursday morning and afternoon before intensifying again in the evening, and potentially ease permanently on Friday, with the earliest time it would all be gone being after the weekend.
In New York City, the Air Quality Index (AQI) hit 584 at 5 pm; the highest (worst) possible number is 500, and anything above 300 is considered extremely unhealthy. In the Lakewood region, the AQI hit neared 400 at around the same time.