LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Smoke from Canadian wildfires is plunging air quality into dangerous territory across the Midwest and East Coast. And as NPR's Ava Berger reports, the bad air will be hanging around for a while.
AVA BERGER, BYLINE: "On A Clear Day, You Can See Forever." That iconic movie is set in New York City, but no one is seeing anything in New York today.
NICHOLAS ISABELLA: We had these crazy thunderstorms in New York City. All these alerts were going out and there was lightning. And then as soon as it stopped, all the sky turned orange, and that's when all the smoke really started to get bad.
BERGER: That is Brooklyn resident Nicholas Isabella (ph). Isabella is a storm chaser and photographer. He travels around the country documenting Mother Nature. So he's seen his fair share of bad weather. But the haze hanging over New York made even him pause.
ISABELLA: It smells like somebody's having a campfire. But that smell is everywhere you walk. Around the city, you're smelling that.
BERGER: The smoke is coming from wildfires that have been raging in Ontario and northern Minnesota all week. In Canada, there are over 800 active wildfires. Winds have sent the smoke southeast, where it has settled over the Midwest and the mid-Atlantic states. On Thursday, air quality in Chicago, Detroit and New York was among the worst of the world's major cities.
The East Coast is expected to stay smoky at least through the weekend. This is putting millions of people at risk. Smoke is made up of tiny particles that can be inhaled deep into a person's lungs and even enter the bloodstream.
DAVID EISENMAN: The data's very clear that pollution from wildfires has all kinds of health effects.
BERGER: That's Dr. David Eisenman. He's a professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
EISENMAN: There are studies that show effects on the heart, with increased heart attacks and heart failure. There's strokes associated with it, respiratory illnesses.
BERGER: He added that air pollution is one of the top causes of premature deaths worldwide, along with smoking and high cholesterol. To stay safe, Eisenman recommends following the Environmental Protection Agency's guidelines for wildfire smoke, such as staying up to date on air quality reports and buying air purifiers and replacement filters. Depending on air quality, he says reduce outdoor activity. And if you must be outside, wear an N95 mask.
Ava Berger, NPR News.
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