NORTHAMPTON — A dim sun peeked through a haze of clouds Tuesday morning, underlining state and federal environmental protection agencies’ warnings of poor air quality spreading across New England from Canadian wildfires.
Air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups was predicted all day and night Tuesday by the state Department of Environmental Protection, and the Environmental Protection Agency warned that effects from the smoke would linger in New England for a few days.
Sensitive groups include people with heart or lung disease such as asthma, older people, children, teenagers and people who are active outside.
People are advised to reduce prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion, while people with pre-existing conditions should stay inside, keep their medicine handy and watch for symptoms such as coughing or shortness of breath.
Elevated concentrations of fine particle air pollution were expected to produce hazy skies and the odor of burning wood, affecting all of New England except Maine, spreading gradually from west to east.
At 11 a.m., the EPAS’s air quality index rated the Pioneer Valley’s air quality unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Canada is on track to see its worst wildfire season in recorded history if the rate of land burned continues at its current pace, Bloomberg reported Monday.
The country is experiencing an unprecedented amount of fire activity for this early in the season, scorching approximately 8.2 million acres — almost double the area of Lake Ontario — so far this year, according to Canadian government officials. That’s 13 times more than the average in the past decade for the same period.
Some 413 active fires are burning across the country, from the westernmost province of British Columbia to Nova Scotia on the East Coast, prompting 26,000 Canadians to evacuate their homes. The most out-of-control blazes are raging in Quebec.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has approved requests from Quebec, Nova Scotia and Alberta for federal assistance, including deployment of Canadian Armed Forces members. Firefighters have been mobilized between provinces to help in areas where they are most needed, and hundreds of personnel have been sent from the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Costa Rica.
Material from Bloomberg was used in this report.