As wildfires rage in Canada, officials warned that the country was on track for its worst-ever year of wildfire destruction as warm and dry conditions are forecast to persist through to the end of the summer after an unprecedented start to the fire season.
Much of our area is feeling the effects, with hazy skies that smell like campfire for the second day in a row throughout most of New Jersey and surrounding states. Earlier today, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) issued a Code Red Air Quality Alert for Wednesday, June 7 and forecasted a Code Orange for June 8. Photos from the web and social media showed smoky, haze filled skies that look like stills from an apocalyptic film. We asked Yuan Gao, Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Rutgers University-Newark, about the current and long-term effects of the fires on air quality locally and afar. To read the full article.