November 2, 2024

Quebec Wildfires Spark “Hazardous” Air Crisis in Northeastern U.S.

. A subsequent weather system then directed the resulting smoke towards the northeastern and mid-Atlantic states, causing dangerous air conditions in these extremely populated U.S. locations.
At 9 a.m. Eastern Time on June 8, air quality monitors in parts of Pennsylvania recorded levels considered “dangerous” (code maroon) on the EPAs Air Quality Index (AQI) scale.

. This animation illustrates the movement of black carbon particles, also called soot, across the eastern areas of Canada and the U.S. from June 3 to 8, 2023. The source of this contamination was a rise in wildfires in Quebec at the start of June. A subsequent weather condition system then directed the resulting smoke towards the mid-atlantic and northeastern states, causing hazardous air conditions in these highly populated U.S. locations.
The black carbon information come from NASAs GEOS forward processing (GEOS-FP) design, which absorbs information from satellite, aircraft, and ground-based observing systems. In addition to making usage of satellite observations of aerosols and fires, GEOS-FP likewise integrates meteorological information like air temperature, wetness, and winds to forecast the plumes behavior. The great particulate matter (PM2.5) in this pollution is small enough to go into the lungs and can result in health problems.
At 9 a.m. Eastern Time on June 8, air quality monitors in parts of Pennsylvania recorded levels deemed “hazardous” (code maroon) on the EPAs Air Quality Index (AQI) scale. The AQI for big cities such as New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. registered in the “really unhealthy” variety (code purple). The prior day, a display near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, recorded a 24-hour average AQI of “hazardous,” which is believed to be extremely uncommon in the area.
In addition to causing conditions harmful to individualss health, the poor air quality and low presence caused flight hold-ups at major airports in New York City, Newark, and Philadelphia.
After sustained smoky conditions in the northeast and mid-Atlantic through June 8, shifting winds may send the worst contamination additional west in coming days, according to the National Weather Service.
NASA Earth Observatory video by Lauren Dauphin, using GEOS-5 data from the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office at NASA GSFC.

A weather condition system pushed smoke from those blazes towards northeast and mid-Atlantic states, bringing harmful air to densely inhabited regions of the U.S

Extreme wildfires in Quebec have actually resulted in “harmful” and “very unhealthy” air quality levels in the northeastern U.S. and caused flight delays due to bad visibility. NASA information reveals the motion of damaging black carbon particles, and moving winds are expected to press the worst contamination additional west.
Smoke originating from Canadian wildfires triggered historically bad air quality.
The northeastern U.S. experienced another day with a few of the worst air quality tape-recorded in the area, brought on by especially serious wildfire activity in Canada. On June 8, 2023, the province of Quebec reported 136 active fires that have charred an area around the size of Delaware.
This animation demonstrates how black carbon particles, or soot, moved throughout eastern parts of Canada and the U.S. from June 3– 8, 2023. Contaminated air stemmed from a spike in wildfire activity in Quebec in early June. Then, a weather system pressed smoke from those blazes towards northeast and mid-Atlantic states, bringing dangerous air to densely populated regions of the U.S