As Canada burns, smoke makes US air unhealthy and skies eerie. Is climate change to blame?
Elizabeth Weise
Doyle Rice
USA TODAY
Canada is on fire. On Wednesday there were more than 400 wildfires burning across the country, more than half of them out-of-control. Smoke and unhealthy air quality levels from the conflagration have blanketed multiple Canadian provinces, much of the Great Lakes region and parts of the northeastern United States.
While forest fires are a natural part of the ecosystem of Canada's boreal forests, the size, ferocity and number of fires this year is decidedly abnormal. Most of the country is expected to be under high to extreme risk for much of the wildfire season, which stretches from May to September.
"Climate change is real and having a huge impact on Canadians right now with forest fires burning across the country," tweeted Catherine McKenna, Canada's former climate minister.
On Monday Canada's minister for emergency preparedness, Bill Blair, said the nation is seeing images of fires that "are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada."
Here's what to know:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/06/07/see-wildfire-smoke-map-of-us-canada/70293572007/
