Smoke from hundreds of bushfires burning in Canada have caused record air pollution in New York
Code Red issued in US as millions of people issued with health alerts as Canadian wildfires burn out of control, causing record air pollution across the border in the Big Apple
READING LEVEL: ORANGE
Smoke from hundreds of bushfires burning out of control in Canada have caused record air pollution that is swamping* most of the United States and putting millions of people under health warnings*.
In Manhattan, where the atmosphere is usually improved by fresh air drifting down from its northern neighbour Canada, wildfires raging in British Columbia, Quebec, and Nova Scotia have turned the air of New York City into a brown and orange health hazard, the likes of which has never been recorded.
New York’s La Guardia Airport had grounded incoming flights due to poor visibility*.
On Wednesday, Jodie Comer who is currently starring on Broadway* in Australian playwright* Suzie Miller’s acclaimed play, Prima Facie*, was helped offstage after 10 minutes saying she was unable to breathe.
An audience member said that soon after the performance began, Comer coughed and then said, “I can’t breathe in this air.”
Shows including Hamilton and Camelot at New York’s Lincoln Centre* were all cancelled citing* the air quality, which was reported to be “the worst in the world.”
“Tonight’s performance of ‘Hamilton’ will not go on as scheduled,” read a statement on the show’s Instagram story. “The hazardous air quality in New York City has made it impossible for a number of our artists to perform this evening.”
The devastating fires have displaced* more than 20,000 people and scorched about 3.8 million hectares of land in Canada, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described this wildfire season as the country’s worst ever.
More than 100 million people across the northeastern United States, and extending west to Chicago and south to Atlanta, were under pollution warnings after the smoke drifted hundreds of miles from Canada.
The smoke that has spewed from the fires in Canada is “exceptionally rare” and “extreme”, said Ryan Stauffer, a NASA scientist specialising in air pollution.
The conditions are expected to last for at least two more days and have alarmed* experts because the Northern summer has barely begun.
“In the last 20 or 25 years, the only event that comes even close to what we’re seeing in the past few days was a very similar situation on July 7 and 8, 2002,” Stauffer told AFP.
“And that was … maybe even an eerily* similar set up, where there were new wildfires in Quebec, this smoke streams directly into the northeastern of the United States.
“That is the top most polluted, in terms of this particular matter*, date on record. … So this is exceptionally rare … It’s really just an extreme event.”
Millions of Americans are under health warnings with pollution at “code red*” levels.
For the second day, authorities are warning people, including healthy adults and children, to avoid outdoor activities and to wear their coronavirus masks again.
The thick smoke wafting* down from Eastern Canada is releasing “countless” dangerous particles in the air, doctors say that may trigger fatal ailments*.
The smoke carries particulate matter that can damage the lungs, heart, and enter the bloodstream and cause heart attacks and stroke*, according to experts.
GLOSSARY
- swamping: overwhelming something or someone
- health warnings: alerts to inform people about potential risks or dangers to their health
- visibility: the degree to which objects or images can be seen in the atmosphere
- Broadway: a famous street in Manhattan, New York City, known for its theatres and musical performances
- playwright: a person who writes plays
- Prima Facie: a Latin term meaning “at first sight” or “on the face of it”
- citing: mentioning or referring to something as a reason or justification
- Lincoln Centre: a cultural complex in New York City, consisting of multiple performing arts venues
- displaced: forced to leave one’s home or usual environment due to conflict, disaster, or other reasons
- alarmed: caused concern or distress
- eerily: in a strange, creepy, or mysterious manner
- particulate matter: tiny solid or liquid particles suspended in the air, often resulting from combustion or industrial processes
- code red: a level of warning or alert indicating extremely high pollution levels or health risks
- wafting: pass gently through the air
- fatal ailments: medical conditions or illnesses that could kill you
- stroke: a medical condition caused by an interruption of blood flow to the brain
EXTRA READING
New map app measures air quality
New York sinking under weight of buildings
QUICK QUIZ
- What is causing the air pollution in the United States, particularly in New York City?
- How did the air pollution affect the performance of Jodie Comer in the play Prima Facie?
- Why were shows like Hamilton and Camelot cancelled at New York’s Lincoln Centre?
- According to NASA scientist Ryan Stauffer, how does the current event compare to a similar situation that occurred in 2002, and why is it considered exceptionally rare?
- What are some of the health risks associated with the smoke and air pollution from the Canadian fires, according to experts?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Public health warning
In events such as this, it is important that the public are made aware of the danger in a prompt and clear manner.
Create a public health warning that could be displayed on the television, in newspapers, government websites and other publications that tells people about the danger and what they need to do. Your warning should be eye-catching so that people will take immediate notice, and worded simply and clearly, so that it can be read and understood within 30 seconds.
Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Health and Physical Education
2. Extension
Print or draw a map of North America. Highlight and draw arrows to show the areas where the fires are burning, where the air quality has been impacted and the path of travel of the pollution.
Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Geography
VCOP ACTIVITY
To sum it up
After reading the article, use your comprehension skills to summarise in a maximum of three sentences what the article is about.
Think about:
What is the main topic or idea?
What is an important or interesting fact?
Who was involved (people or places)?
Use your VCOP skills to re-read your summary to make sure it is clear, specific and well punctuated.