After two days immersed in a thick haze of smoke particles, cities like New York or Washington woke up this Friday with moderate air quality. as Canada’s fire cloud continues to disperse south.

According to the country’s National Weather Service, this Friday the smoke is expected continue to affect regions from the Great Lakes to the mid-Atlantic with reduced air quality.

THIS MAY INTEREST YOU: Air pollution in New York among the worst in the world due to the fires in Canada

Poor air quality is expected to affect several southern cities including St Louis, Missouri and Louisville today.

Meanwhile, major cities on the country’s east coast, such as New York or Washington, are recording “moderate” air quality levels after two days of warning for unhealthy air that affected about 75 million people, with the worst pollution levels recorded in decades.

The smoke that has been choking millions of people in North America for days is the result of 441 forest fires that are currently active in Canada, which is much higher than normal due to the effects of climate change.

Since January, the flames have burned 3.8 million hectares of forest and vegetation in Canada while the average figure for the last decade was 250,000 hectares.

According to the mayor of the American capital, Muriel Bowser, this Friday the alert was reduced to “code orange”, with unhealthy air quality for sensitive groups.

“This should improve by Saturday. We urge residents and visitors to follow precautions.”he claimed.

In New York City, public schools remained closed today with students taking classes remotely, while authorities continue to recommend citizens to monitor air quality levels and to stay indoors and limit their outdoor activities.

After what happened, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul said the state would manufacture one million N95 masks for that the population can be prevented from similar events.

Exposure to wildfire smoke can cause a number of health problems, including high pulse, chest pain, and swelling of the eyes, nose, and throat.

Canadian authorities have said the country is preparing for its worst bushfire season.

US President Joe Biden offered his help this week to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The United States has already deployed more than 600 firefighters to help fight the blazes across Canada since May.