Smoke from wildfires covers eastern US

Smoke from the fires that are still burning in Canada has caused “Code Red” air quality alerts to be issued in a number of states.

The northeastern US has been shrouded in smoke from more than 400 wildfires that have been burning for days in the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Ontario. On Wednesday, “Code Red” air quality alerts were issued in areas like New York, Washington, DC, and Baltimore.

As of Wednesday, about 100 million Americans resided in areas with air quality alerts. 13 states at least have been impacted. Governments in the area encouraged people to stay indoors, use air purifiers, and wear N95 masks while going outside.

Social media users shared images and videos that showed a pervasive brownish-red haze in the air that turned the sun into an angry red dot and gave off a burning odor.

More than 1,000 miles away from Quebec, where the majority of the wildfires were located on Wednesday, haze has covered cities as far south as Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Due to the smoke, New York City’s air quality momentarily held the record for the worst in the world on Tuesday night.

According to Premier Francois Legault, more than 10,000 Canadians have had to evacuate their homes in Quebec alone as a result of the flames, which have consumed more than 2,000 square kilometers of the province.

Bill Blair, Canada’s minister of public safety, referred to the flames as “the most severe we have ever witnessed in Canada,” and he issued a warning that the situation was likely to worsen.