Experts said #WatchDuty is their go-to resource for info, including maps of #wildfires, the activities of firefighting crews, #AirQuality alerts & ofcl #evacuation orders.
Even if you’re not at risk from wildfires, we’ll all deal w/ #NaturalDisasters like floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, blizzards or extreme heat. Watch Duty’s #tech combines the expertise of govt ofcls, experts & laypeople to keep us informed & safe amidst the ongoing #ClimateCrisis.
Canada wildfire smoke is creating ‘unhealthy’ air quality in the northern US
Smoke from Canadian wildfires is back and is spreading over part of the northern #UnitedStates, and it could spread farther throughout the week.
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published May 13, 2024
"In a replay of last year around the same time, wildfires in Canada have become more numerous over the past week. Smoke from those fires is being carried into the northern United States and will result in hazy skies and, in some cases, poor air quality, AccuWeather meteorologists say.
"Last year, large wildfires burned much of central and southern Canada and periodically sent smoke into the northern U.S. The Canadian wildfire season is expected to be near to above the historical average in terms of the number of fires and well above average in terms of the acreage burned. However, the numbers will be much less than those of the record-shattering season of 2023."
New research found that >10% of countries & territories met #WorldHealthOrganization guidelines for particulate matter #pollution last year.
Only 10 countries & territories out of 134 achieved the #WHO’s standards for a pervasive form of #AirPollution last year, acc/to #AirQuality data compiled by IQAir, a Swiss company.
The #WorldHealthOrganization sets a guideline that people shouldn’t breathe more than 5 micrograms of #FineParticulateMatter per cubic meter of #air, on average, throughout a year. The #UnitedStates#EPA recently proposed tightening its standard from 12 to 9 micrograms per cubic meter.
"The report showed that improvements in #AirQuality between 2019 and 2022 from lowering motor vehicle pollution – even before the expansion of the #ULEZ throughout the capital since August – rivalled the potential savings from entirely cleaning up #London’s aviation or industrial and commercial heat and power generation."