Thick smoke from Canada's ongoing wildfires has covered vast areas of several US states, with major cities like Detroit and Chicago experiencing "very unhealthy" conditions. US officials issued warnings across several states in the Midwest after heavy smoke from Canada's wildfires blanketed the area on Wednesday. The latest round of unhealthy air conditions in the United States comes as the country's northern neighbor battles hundreds of wildfires, with many currently burning out of control. Which areas are impacted? The Great Lakes region of the US was hit the hardest on Wednesday — with thick smoke causing dangerous conditions in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Indiana. For several highly populated areas, the air quality conditions are currently rated at "very unhealthy," according to data from the US Air Quality Index. "This is particularly thick smoke," National Weather Service meteorologist Bryan Jackson told the Associated Press. Images from the city of Chicago, located in Illinois, showed hazy conditions that obscured the city's skyline.  Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson strongly urged older adults, people with health issues and young people to stay inside until the smoke lifted. He also promised "swift action to ensure that vulnerable individuals have the resources they need to protect themselves and their families." On Wednesday morning, the city of Detroit in Michigan logged some of the worst air quality in the country. State officials called on people with lung conditions or asthma to avoid going outside, and advised canceling any strenuous activities taking place outdoors. The smoke is forecast to drift over to western New York and Pennsylvania later on Wednesday. The Mid-Atlantic region, which includes New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia, was expected to be impacted on Thursday.  What is the status of Canada's wildfires? Currently, there are 490 wildfires burning in Canada — with 255 of the blazes believed to be burning out of control. Most of the fires are located in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, which are located closer to highly populated areas of the neighboring US. Previous wildfire seasons saw more blazes in Canada's western wilderness areas. Although areas in the province of Quebec saw some rain, it won't be sustained enough to extinguish the fires. As of Monday, wildfires have burned through 76,129 square kilometers (29,393 square miles) of land in Canada since the start of the year. The scale of destruction exceeds the previous record that was set in 1989, according to Canada's National Forestry Database. Summer of fire and smoke Earlier this month, New York City and Washington DC experienced days of poor air quality due to the Canadian wildfires. Images showed New York's infamous skyline shrouded in an orange haze. The small particles from wildfire smoke cause especially hazardous conditions. The particles can affect the heart and lungs, making it more difficult to breathe. The smoke also irritates the eyes, nose and throat. Scientists say human-induced climate change is increasing the risk and rate of wildfires, as well as heat waves and other extreme weather systems.   

The wildfires have displaced thousands and continued to endanger communities on the outskirts of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Wildfires in the Nova Scotia province posed a daunting challenge on Wednesday, as dozens of firefighters and multiple water bombers battled two uncontrollable blazes northwest of downtown Halifax. The two blazes — known as the Tantallon Fire and the Bedford Fire — threatened the provincial capital of Nova Scotia. These wildfires, which have already displaced thousands of residents, continued to endanger communities on the outskirts of Halifax and caused poor air quality in New Jersey and parts of Pennsylvania as the smoke drifted across the US border. 'A crisis in the province' Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston called the situation a "crisis" and "unprecedented." Houston also requested military assistance along with the Coast Guard, who had already arrived. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the wildfires "heartbreaking," and assured unlimited support. On Wednesday, there were 14 wildfires burning in Nova Scotia, with three of them classified as out of control. These fires have already caused the destruction or damage of over 200 homes and structures, including a wooden bridge. No injuries have been reported thus far. Extreme weather conditions Western Canada has been repeatedly struck by climate change-induced extreme weather events in recent years, including floods, mudslides, devastating forest fires that wiped out entire towns, and record-breaking summer temperatures that claimed over 500 lives in 2021. Earlier this month, wildfires in Alberta burned nearly one million hectares of forests and grasslands, displacing 30,000 individuals at one point.

The wildfires raging through the eastern city's vicinity have led to the evacuation of at least 16,000 citizens. Prime Minister Trudeau offered up his government's support in the face of the "incredibly serious" flames. Wildfires have raged in Canada's eastern city of Halifax for days, leading to the mandatory evacuation of thousands of citizens as of Monday. Citizens of Halifax suburbs including Hammonds Plains, Upper Tantallon and Pockwork will not be allowed to return until advised by municipal authorities.  At least 16,000 citizens were evacuated, after authorities declared a state of emergency late on Sunday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered his government's support with handling the situation in Nova Scotia, where Halifax is located, which he described as "incredibly serious." No deaths or injuries have thus far been reported. What do we know about the fire? Television footage showed large plumes of smoke, with houses and vehicles gutted by the flames. The cause of the fire was unknown. But its spread was aided by strong winds and tinder-dry woods. Officials said a large quantity of rain, which was not forecast this week, was needed to bring the wildfires under control. Wildfires were also reported in other areas of Canada during the past few days, including in the province of New Brunswick and western provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, but most were now under control. Canada's western areas have been repeatedly hit by extreme weather in recent years. The intensity and frequency of such conditions have been attributed to global warming.

Global warming is wreaking havoc in Western Canada where wildfires rage in Alberta and floods threaten to ravage British Columbia. Thousands of people were asked to leave their homes in western Canada on Friday as sudden, extreme heat has triggered wildfires in parts of Alberta, and rapidly melting snow has led to floods in British Columbia. More than 13,000 people were ordered to evacuate in Alberta, where more than 70 fires were actively burning. The territory of the Little Red River Cree Nation — one of the most severely hit areas — saw the 1,458-hectare (3,602-acre) fire consume 20 homes and the police station. Western and central regions of Canada, which are home to large parts of the country's agricultural land, are experiencing "abnormally dry" conditions and "severe drought" in some places, the latest survey from the Canadian government said. There have already been 348 wildfires in Alberta this year, according to Christie Tucker, an information unit manager for Alberta Wildfire. These fires have burned through 25,000 hectares of land. "This is significantly more wildfire activity for this time of year than we have seen any time in the recent past," Tucker said in a press conference. The situation was expected to intensify on Friday, she further said. "It's going to get hotter, it's going to get windier and we are expecting some extreme wildfire behavior. Firefighters are at the ready today for what could be an extremely challenging Day."  Double disasters In the Province of British Columbia, fires rage on inland while floods batter the southern region where rapidly melting snow from the heat has overwhelmed rivers and burst through banks. Authorities expect heavy rains and thunderstorms over the weekend, which will likely worsen the situation. "Severe flooding is possible, and extreme flooding... is plausible, in areas that receive high rainfall," a statement released by provincial authorities said. "Peak river levels are generally expected between Saturday and Monday," it said. Western Canada has been enduring a cold spring up till last week. The quick rise in temperature — 10-15 degrees Celsius above the average for this time of the year — has led to both fires and flooding. This is not the first time global warming and extreme weather are wreaking havoc in the region. Two years ago, a "historic" heat dome in British Columbia claimed hundreds of lives and was followed by major fires.

Hit by a scorching heatwave, the South American country is struggling to contain fires that have engulfed 151 forests. At least 13 people were reported dead on Friday as hundreds of wildfires across Chile wreaked havoc. The Chilean government has declared a state of disaster after a devastating heatwave sparked the forest fires. As of Friday, 151 wildfires were raging, of which 65 were declared under control. The fires blazed through more than 35,000 acres of land and destroyed over 100 houses since it began on Wednesday. Among the victims was a firefighter who died after being run over by a fire truck while combating the blaze. A pilot and a mechanic died while trying to battle the fires as their helicopter crashed in the southern region of Araucania. The death toll included four civilians who died in Biobio region, in central Chile, which has been among the worst affected by the fires. What we know about Chile's wildfires "Families are having a very difficult time,'' Ivonne Rivas, the mayor of Tome in Biobio, told a local radio station. "It's hell what they are living through, the fire got away from us.'' Some 2,300 firefighters and 75 aircraft are involved in the battle against the flames. President Gabriel Boric suspended his vacation to travel to affected areas on Friday. He said that there is "evidence" that some of the fires were sparked by unauthorized burnings.  "My role as president today is to ensure that all resources will be available for the emergency and so that people feel that they are not going to be alone," Boric said from Biobio.  The declaration of the state of disaster allows for coordination with the military and suspension of constitutional rights. The heat wave is set to continue with high temperatures and strong winds, making it more difficult to control the fires. "The conditions in the coming days are going to be risky," Interior Minister Carolina Toha told journalists. The fires have stoked fears of a  repeat of the 2017 fires, which left 11 people dead, destroyed 1500 homes and affected over 1,150,000 acres of forest. Announcement of Pablo Neruda's forensic report stalled The wildfires caused the suspension of a highly anticipated announcement regarding the death of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. Forensic experts were expected to reveal whether the poet died from complications due to prostate cancer or whether he was poisoned, potentially settling  one of the greatest mysteries of post-coup Chile. A spokesperson for the country's judiciary said that the doctor in charge of delivering the report's findings was unable to connect to the internet as his region was affected by fires.

It has been described as Australia's Galapagos Islands and has long been a refuge for some of the country's most endangered creatures. But devastating wildfires over recent days have undone decades of careful conservation work on Kangaroo Island and have threatened to wipe out some of the island's unique fauna altogether. Experts working on the island say the fires have killed thousands of koalas and kangaroos, and also have raised questions about whether any members of a mouse-like marsupial species that carries its young in a pouch have survived. Similarly, it remains unclear how many from a unique flock of glossy black-cockatoos got away from the flames and whether they have a future on an island where much of their habitat has gone up in smoke. Located off the coast of South Australia state, Kangaroo Island is about 50% larger than Rhode Island and home to 4,500 people and what was a thriving ecotourism industry. But the wildfires that have been ravaging swaths of Australia have burned through one-third of the island, killing a father and his son and leaving behind a scorched wasteland and a devastated community. They also have left people scrambling to help the critters that have survived. "Caring for all these animals is quite amazing," said Sam Mitchell, co-owner of the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park. "However, we are seeing a lot that are too far gone. We are seeing kangaroos and koalas with their hands burned off — they stand no chance. It's been quite emotional." Inspired in part by the late Australian wildlife expert Steve Irwin, Mitchell and his wife, Dana, bought the commercial park seven years ago in their early 20s, and have been renovating the place and taking in rescue animals since. On Friday night with the fire approaching, Dana fled with their 18-month-old son, Connor, while Sam stayed behind to defend the park and their dream. A wind change spared the park from the wildfire's path. Mitchell said the fires have killed thousands of koalas on the island, a particularly devastating loss because the creatures have remained largely disease-free there, while many koalas on mainland Australia suffer from chlamydia. The couple are currently caring for about 18 burned koalas, and they've had to euthanize many more. Meanwhile, Heidi Groffen could do nothing, as all eight monitoring stations she and her partner had set up to keep track of the mysterious Kangaroo Island dunnart, the mouse-like marsupial, melted in the flames. An ecologist and coordinator for the nonprofit Kangaroo Island Land for Wildlife, Groffen said the population of 300 or so dunnarts may have been wiped out altogether because they are too small to outrun wildfires, although she remains hopeful that some may have sheltered in rock crevices. "Even if there are survivors, there is no food for them now," she said. "We're hoping to bring some into captivity before they are completely gone." She said the creatures have long fascinated her because so little is known about them. Also uncertain is the future for the 400 or so Kangaroo Island glossy black-cockatoos. Once prevalent on the South Australia mainland, the birds retreated to the island after humans destroyed much of their traditional habitat. "Unlike some of the other animals, the birds are in the best position to escape. They can get away from the fires a bit more," said Daniella Teixeira, who is working on a doctoral degree about the birds at The University of Queensland. But much like the dunnarts, the cockatoos could find they don't have enough food left on the island, particularly because they eat only from a single type of tree known as a drooping she-oak. And many hot spots on the island continue to burn. Teixeira said careful conservation work over the past 25 years has seen the glossy black-cockatoo population increase from 150, but those gains have been wiped out in the space of a week. She said she is currently writing the final chapter of the thesis she began in 2016, but that suddenly everything has changed. "It's pretty hard to sit here and write a paper on them when I don't know their status today," she said. Source: AP/UNB AH

Raging wildfires killed 74 people including small children in Greece, devouring homes and forests as terrified residents fled to the sea to escape the flames, authorities said Tuesday. Orange flames engulfed pine forests, turning them to ash and leaving lines of charred cars in the smoke-filled streets of seaside towns near Athens after the fires broke on Monday. Rescuers rushed to evacuate residents and tourists stranded on beaches. Others were overtaken by the flames in their homes, on foot or in their cars. The charred bodies of 26 people, including small children, were discovered in the courtyard of a villa at the seaside resort of Mati, 40 kilometres (25 miles) northeast of the capital, said rescuer Vassilis Andriopoulos. They were huddled together in small groups, "perhaps families, friends or strangers, entwined in a last attempt to protect themselves as they tried to reach the sea", he said. "The problem is what is still hidden under the ashes," said Vice President of Emergency Services Miltiadis Mylonas. The government said Wednesday that 308 engineers had arrived on site to assess the damage. Video footage showed people fleeing by car as the tourist-friendly Attica region declared a state of emergency. "I saw the fire move down the hill at around 6:00 pm and five or ten minutes later it was in my garden," said 60-year old Athanasia Oktapodi. Her home is surround by dry pine trees. "They caught fire. I ran out like a crazy person, got to the beach and put my head in the water. Then the patrol boats came." - Death toll soars - Fire service spokeswoman Stavroula Maliri raised the overall death toll on Tuesday to 74 from an earlier count of 60. She said the toll was not yet final since firefighters were still searching for victims. Winds of more than 100 kilometers per hour (60 mph) in Mati caused a "sudden progression of fire" through the village, said Maliri. "Mati no longer exists," said the mayor of nearby Rafina, Evangelos Bournous. He added that more than a thousand buildings and 300 cars had been damaged. According to Maliri, 82 people remained in hospital on Tuesday night including 10 adults needing respiratory assistance and almost a dozen children. Officials said they were Greece's deadliest blazes in more than a decade. Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras cut short a visit to Bosnia to return home. He announced three days of national mourning. Anticipating questions about the high death toll and the emergency planning, Tsipras stressed the "extreme" scale of the fires. European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker tweeted Tuesday that the EU "will spare no effort to help Greece and the Greek people". Source: AFP AH