Every day, North American cities compete to be the world’s most polluted metropolis. On Friday, June 30, according to the international barometer IQAir, Montreal (Quebec), Toronto (Ontario), the most populous city in Canada, and the American megalopolis New York were on the podium of the least breathable cities, with indices between 129 and 157, with this quality being considered “poor” from 51 onwards.

Smoke from around 497 wildfires still active across Canada as of June 30, nearly half of which are still alive ” out of control “ especially in northeastern Ontario and Quebec, have spread throughout North America.

In the United States, smog warnings have been issued in fifteen states, including Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Kansas and even Pennsylvania. Overall, more than 80 million Americans are affected by this poor air quality. And the situation in southern Canada has also deteriorated again this weekend, but without reaching the historic pollution records of June 24th and 25th.

From Quebec to Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), from Val-d’Or, a small town of 20,000 inhabitants in northeastern Canada, near which the forest is still burning, to Chicago (Illinois), the same yellow from more than a thousand kilometers away Fog dulls the atmosphere and blurs urban landmarks, the same acrid air irritates the throat and stings the eyes. In Montreal’s college district, a group of young people multiply selfies as the sun reduces to a white-hot ring in the background. “We photograph the end of the world”they let go and realign their paper masks on their faces.

No influx of patients to the hospital

“In addition to the conventional measurements of pollutants such as ozone or nitrogen dioxide, we carefully monitor the level of fine dust in the airexplains Peter Kimbell, meteorologist at Environment and Climate Change Canada. They are the most volatile and most likely to penetrate our bodies. » When the concentration of these tiny particles exceeds 35 micrograms per cubic metre, air quality is considered “poor”. On June 25, it reached a record 500 micrograms per cubic meter in Montreal. It is the northerly winds that are currently dominating Canada, driving the huge plumes of smoke towards the south of the continent.

“These fine particles, called ‘PM2.5’, can penetrate very deeply into the lungs and bloodstream., DetailDavid Kaiser, Physician at the Montreal Regional Health Department. They therefore affect the entire respiratory system and heart function, especially in people who are already at risk, such as asthmatics, the elderly and pregnant women. »

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