After Shrouding New York, Washington, Smoke From Canadian Wildfires Reaches Norway, Claim Scientists

Plumes of smoke have entered Norway stretching from Canada across Greenland and Iceland.

Plumes of smoke have entered Norway stretching from Canada across Greenland and Iceland.

Source : Getty

After engulfing New York City and Washington DC, smoke emanating from Canadian wildfires has now reached Norway. Plumes of smoke have entered Norway stretching from Canada across Greenland and Iceland. The increase in smoke was detected by the scientists at the Climate and Environmental Research Institute in Norway (NILU) using very sensitive instruments and then they confirmed its origin using forecast modeling. It was the worst case of wildfire smoke blanketing the US Northeast in more than 20 years, according to private forecasting service AccuWeather.

According to Nikolaos Evangeliou, a senior scientist at NILU, people in Norway might be able to smell and even notice the smoke as a light haze but, unlike parts of the United States that have seen hazardous pollution, they should experience no impact on health, as reported by CNN. “The fires traveling from such long distances arrive very diluted,” he told CNN.

The plume is expected to spread across swaths of Europe in the coming days but it’s unlikely people will be able to smell or notice the smoke, Evangeliou said. It’s not unusual for wildfire smoke to travel long distances, he added, “Smoke from wildfires such as those in Canada is injected at high altitudes thus staying in the atmosphere longer and able to travel over far distances,” he said, as quoted by CNN.

Earlier, the increased pollution levels compelled the Washington Nationals baseball team to call off its home game, while the National Zoo shut down for the day. The Biden administration postponed its Pride Month event, which had been expected to be the largest celebration for LGBTQ+ people in the White House's history, the news agency Reuters reported.

Millions of Americans have been advised to try and stay to avoid respiratory issues and other health problems that could arise due to the high levels of fine particulates in the atmosphere. Government data showed air quality readings above the "hazardous" level in Washington on Thursday morning.

In New York City, the air quality health advisory has now been extended till midnight Friday, tweeted the mayor as apocalyptic smog continued to smother the financial capital of the US. The advisory states that the wildfires in Canada have deteriorated the air quality in New York.