Smoke from wildfires is putting sensitive groups of people at high risk as the blazes burn in Canada and Minnesota.
Millions of people in the Midwest and Northeast portions of the United States are feeling the effects of the smoke and air pollution, CBS News reported Saturday, noting winds have been pushing the smoke toward the southeast.
“High levels of fine particulate matter in the air from smoke can be unhealthy, especially for sensitive groups such as children and people with heart or lung conditions,” the outlet said:
New York City and Washington, DC, ranked among the world’s most polluted major cities on Saturday, as air quality alerts stretched from Minnesota to parts of the East Coast. Detroit and Chicago had been high on the list Friday before conditions began to improve.
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Minnesota officials issued an air quality alert that extends into the weekend for much of the state, with very heavy smoke across the state’s northeastern corner. Air quality levels in northeast Minnesota reached hazardous levels, making it unsafe for everyone.
Doctors in the United States are also alerting healthy people to the fact there was a risk to being exposed to the pollution, Fox News reported Friday.
Dr. Fernando Safdie, director of endoluminal and airway surgery and a lung cancer specialist in Florida, told the outlet, “The main concern is fine particle pollution, known as PM2.5. These particles are small enough to get deep into the lungs, and the smallest can pass into the bloodstream.”
“Smoke also carries irritant gases. That combination is what triggers symptoms,” he continued.
Canada is experiencing over 900 wildfires, but a storm is expected to help clear the air as it moves through on Saturday, ABC News reported.
On Wednesday, state officials throughout the Midwest and Northeast issued warnings about the dangerous plumes of wildfires in Canada where Breitbart News reported “the federal government has neglected wildfire management for decades and has no national firefighting or equivalent emergency service.”
In a Truth Social post on Friday, President Donald Trump said, “We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein, and the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable!”
“I will call the Prime Minister during the day to find out what they are going to do about it. The cost is incalculable! Canada has refused to engage in basic Forest Management and Debris Removal, knowing that such refusal will lead to exactly this result. This is Willful Negligence, and becoming a yearly occurrence, costing the United States Billions of Dollars, which cost of this pollution must of necessity be added to the TARIFFS Canada is currently paying. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” he concluded.
