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A series of wildfires in the Canadian province of Quebec has rapidly intensified due to powerful winds in the vicinity of a low-pressure system near the New England coast.
The counterclockwise flow around this system has driven the smoke from the fires toward the south, directly into the Northeast region.
Residents in the Northeast experienced the effects of this smoke on Monday night, and it has continued to linger throughout Tuesday; according to National Weather Service Meteorologist from Binghamton Bryan Greenblatt said, this phenomenon will linger throughout the week.
“We are expecting the peak smoke to be in the area of today and tomorrow, and then it starts to diminish toward the end of the week, but we are going to have some smoky skies and or hazy skies for the next several days.”
Greenblatt urges residents in the affected areas to take necessary precautions to protect their health.
“If you have any underlying conditions, then staying indoors would definitely be a good piece of advice due to the air quality.
Due to the elevated pollution levels, the New York State Department of Health urges individuals to limit strenuous outdoor physical activities to reduce the risk of adverse health effects.
“We don’t generally see the air quality this poor. Generally, fires are usually from fires out west and have a lower concentration. These fires are from Canada, Quebec, and the northerly winds were getting a higher concentration of smoke toward the surface,” added Greenblatt.