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As heavy smoke from wildfires burning in eastern Canada continues to blanket several parts of the United States, the forecast predicts the situation will not improve for parts stretching up to North Carolina for a few more days. Over a week ago, areas of Canada's eastern provinces, Quebec and Ontario, started fighting wildfires.
According to Canadian authorities, more than 9 million acres of land have been destroyed, and over 20,000 people have been evacuated. The smoke that traveled south into the US has led several states to issue air quality alerts and postpone outdoor events, including Major League Baseball games.
In an email addressed to CBS News, a Weather Channel meteorologist Jen Carfagno addressed the current air quality levels and said:
"We have been in a blocked pattern across North America all week long. That kept an area of upper level low pressure stuck over the Northeast. The flow around the low pressure has been guiding wildfire smoke from Quebec into the Northeast, Great Lakes, and even Ohio Valley and down in the mid-Atlantic."
When the weather pattern shifts, the smoke will begin to subside over the United States, Carfagno added. She said that the change is anticipated over the weekend and that predictions suggest it will occur "at all levels of the atmosphere and bring in cleaner air." However, she noted that some rain showers over the Northeast might arrive earlier and provide some short-term relief from the smoke.
New Jersey schools were shut due to poor air quality caused by wildfires
As per ABC7NY, on June 7, officials in New Jersey said that public schools in Newark and Elizabeth will be closed on Thursday, June 8. Newark is the biggest school district in the state.
The quantity of smoke in the air in New York City seemed to be lower than the day before, early June 8 morning. The risk for Thursday is that the winds may change, possibly bringing the Tri-State near to the severe air quality levels recorded on the day before.
In a press conference, Mayor Eric Adams urged New York residents to take precautions while calling the sudden drastic drop in the air quality due to wildfires an "unprecedented event." He noted that the air quality at 5 pm was recorded to 484, and the maximum on the scale is 500.
As per a map published by the Environmental Protection Agency, the northern half of New Jersey had recorded “very unhealthy” air quality levels on Wednesday at 3 pm. This means the air quality caused by wildfires could have health effects for everyone.
Several alerts issued earlier this week for various regions in the United States, including Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C., are still in effect.
Some of these alerts have even spread to the Midwest. Georgia forecasters issued a warning to the residents on Wednesday, cautioning them about the possibility of diminished air quality in the northern regions.
