An episode of rare air pollution that affects more than a hundred million Americans, closed public schools in New York and smoke that emerges as far as Norway: fires continue Friday to rage in Canada, which is going through a historic season.

Flights delayed due to low visibility, outdoor events cancelled, remote schooling... The episode has concrete consequences on the lives of the inhabitants.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, more than 111 million people were affected by air quality alerts across much of the northeastern United States. This region is not used to this type of smoke, unlike the American West.

>> Read also: Forest fires in Canada: American cities exposed to toxic fumes

Major fires occurred particularly early this year in Quebec, and their smoke is pushed south due to weather conditions, but also east, thousands of kilometers, in Norway. "Very low" concentrations of smoke particles have been measured since Monday, especially at the Birkenes station in the south of the country, researcher Nikolaos Evangeliou of the Norwegian Institute for Climate and Environmental Research (NILU) told AFP.

However, the measures vary and "we do not see a serious peak or significant increase [...]. So we don't see an environmental problem [in Norway] or a serious health risk," the researcher warned.

In the capital Washington, the situation was Thursday even worse than the day before. An event celebrating LGBT+ Pride Month, which was scheduled to take place Thursday night at the White House outdoors, has been postponed, as has a professional baseball game.

"September 11"

The concern mainly concerns the health of frail people, such as children, the elderly or those with heart or respiratory problems.

Emergency room visits related to asthma attacks are on the rise in New York City, a spokesman for the city's health department said. But these "few hundred" patients do not overwhelm the services, he said.

On Wednesday, June 7, impressive images of New York City plunged in an orange light circulated, before the sky was clearer Thursday.

"I've never seen anything like this," Linda, 65, says as she accepts one of the millions of masks distributed to New Yorkers. "It reminded me a lot of September 11, to see the sky filled with smoke," she told AFP, judging the situation "scary".

Like the one in Washington, the Bronx and Central Park zoos have been closed, and students in New York City public schools will take their classes remotely on Friday, June 9.

At airports in New York (LaGuardia, Newark) or Philadelphia, flights suffered delays related to low visibility, said the Civil Aviation Agency, the FAA.

Republicans and conspiracy theories

Global warming is exacerbating the risk and intensity of fires. The increase in temperature, the multiplication of heat waves and the decrease in precipitation in places represent an ideal combination for their development.

Although no study assessing the link between the current fires in Quebec and climate change has yet been conducted, "the conditions we see in Canada are consistent with the warnings of climate specialists," said Thursday Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general.

Citing both smoke from the fires and an upsurge in flooding across the United States, White House spokesman Andrew Bates blasted the Republican opposition for "adhering to conspiracy theories debunked, denying the existence and nature of climate change."

90 fires "out of control"

With nearly 800,000 hectares affected by the fires, according to authorities, Quebec is already experiencing a historic season. Twice as many fires have been recorded since January compared to the average at that time over the last ten years.

On Thursday, June 8, the French-speaking province still had more than 150 active fires, including nearly 90 out of control. New reinforcements – American, French, Portuguese ... – are expected in the coming hours and days.

The situation remains worrying in several regions, according to Stéphane Caron of the Society for the Protection of Forests against Fire: "We are only at the very beginning of this fire season."

The risk of new fires starting is always significant: in the western part of Quebec, they are considered "extreme" by the authorities. These blazes are of high intensity and rapid spread, so very complex to stop for firefighters, they explain.

With AFP

The summary of the week France 24 invites you to look back on the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news with you everywhere! Download the France 24 app