As the United States continues to feel the effects of the fires in Canada, President Joe Biden said Thursday it was “another stark reminder of the impacts of climate change.”

Through a statement, the Head of State highlighted his country’s help to Canada to fight the fires. He recalled that since last May “more than 600 American firefighters, support personnel and firefighting means have been deployed, working alongside Canadian firefighters”.

As indicated, it is “probably the worst fire season in Canadian history, and it’s having a huge impact in the United States.”

Biden said he contacted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday to offer him all the help Canada needs to fight the fires, noting that those in Quebec are having the most direct impact on communities. North Americans.

The President of the United States indicated that he had ordered the National Interagency Fire Center “to respond quickly to Canadian requests for more firefighters and extinguishing means, such as tank trucks”.

Biden also asked the Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigiegto keep it informed “of the progress it is making in ensuring proactive management of the implications for air traffic of deteriorating air quality”.

In this sense, he stated that Michael S. Reganadministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, “continuously monitors air quality and provides critical updates for each affected postcode”.

Visibility issues caused by smoke covering the area’s skies led the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to temporarily halt flights to Philadelphia and LaGuardia and delay all those to Newark.

In addition, the Centers for Disease Control offers detailed recommendations on how to protect yourself from the effects of wildfire smoke on CDC.gov, the US president noted in his statement.

In the last days, Smoke from the approximately 362 wildfires burning in Canada has spread to major Canadian urban centers as well as several cities on the eastern seaboard of the United States.which has caused the dramatic drop in air quality, even in Washington.

New York, which was blanketed in orange lights and the smell of burning on Wednesday, recorded the highest pollution levels in decades, for which authorities have asked citizens to stay at home.

“The surface smoke contamination from New York to the DC area is the highest since July 2002, when a similar situation occurred,” the NASA scientist said. Ryan Stauffer.

The Canadian capital, Ottawa, has also become one of the cities in the world with the worst air quality due to particles from fires in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario.

Toronto, Canada’s largest city, is also on alert for deteriorating air quality, which is not expected to improve until the weekend.

Canadian authorities recommend that the elderly, children and people with respiratory problems limit their outdoor activities in areas affected by smoke.

Of the approximately 400 fires in Canada, about half are out of control.

Canadian authorities have warned that the figures for fires and hectares burned are well above normal for this time of year and that in the coming months the situation will worsen to levels not seen in the country.

The latest data from Canadian authorities indicate that since January the flames have consumed 3.8 million hectares of forest, when the average since 1990 is that forest fires burn a total of 2.5 million hectares per year.

This Wednesday, Trudeau linked the increase in fires to the effects of the climate crisis.

(With information from EFE)

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