MSGID: 1:317/3 64860bc7   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   June 11, 2023 - Wildfire Smoke Blankets East Coast   
      
      Wildfire Smoke   
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      Wildfire smoke from Canada has passed over the northeastern U.S.   
      multiple times each summer in recent years, but it often goes unnoticed   
      because it is relatively high in the atmosphere. That was not the case   
      in June 2023. In the first week of the month, large amounts of smoke   
      from fires in Quebec poured south into the eastern U.S. and degraded   
      the quality of surface-level air that tens of millions of people   
      breathe.   
      
      Winds typically move smoke from fires in Quebec toward the east and out   
      to sea. But in June 2023, a persistent coastal low centered near Prince   
      Edward Island instead steered smoke south into the United States. This   
      image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on   
      NASA’s Terra satellite shows smoke sweeping over parts of the   
      northeastern United States on June 7, 2023. The brown smoke, high in   
      particulate matter, was particularly dense over New York, Pennsylvania,   
      and northern New Jersey, where it obscured the land from view.   
      
      Smoke reaching the northeastern United States from Canada in 2023 from   
      fires raging in western Canada has mostly arrived at fairly high   
      altitudes. But since the fires in Quebec are relatively close to the   
      northeast U.S., a much larger proportion of the smoke arrived in   
      surface-level air. Around the time of the image, AirNow air quality   
      monitors measured levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) soaring   
      above 400 micrograms per cubic meter of air in Syracuse, New York—the   
      highest on record for the city since routine measurements began in   
      1999.   
      
      At 9 a.m. Eastern Time on June 8, air quality monitors in parts of   
      Pennsylvania recorded levels deemed “hazardous” (code maroon) on the   
      EPA’s Air Quality Index (AQI) scale. The AQI for large cities such as   
      New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. registered in the   
      “very unhealthy” range (code purple). The prior day, a monitor near   
      Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, recorded a 24-hour average AQI of “hazardous,”   
      which is thought to be extremely rare in the region.   
      
      As of the morning of June 10, 144 wildfires continued to burn in   
      Quebec, with nearly 14,000 people in that province under evacuation   
      orders. With more than 860 personnel fighting the blazes, with regular   
      firefighting units enhanced with assistance from Canadian Armed Forces   
      and international assistance, progress has been made and beating back   
      some of the flames.   
      
      Shifting winds has also helped improve air quality in the United   
      States. According to AirNow, as of June 10 smoke from wildfires in   
      Western Canada and Quebec have both pushed south, covering a wide swath   
      of the U.S. from Montana to Central Florida and far over the Atlantic   
      Ocean. However, the Air Quality Index is much improved. Mechanicsburg,   
      Indiana registered one of the worst AQIs on Saturday morning, at 149 or   
      Code Orange (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups). Except for a pocket near   
      that town, most of the rest of the smoke-covered region is in the   
      “Moderate” (Code Yellow) range. Parts of New York, including Long   
      Island, where the AQI peaked at over 420 on June 7, registered an AQI   
      of 6 (Code Green, “Good”) on June 10.   
      
      Image Facts   
      Satellite:  Terra   
      Date Acquired: 6/7/2023   
      Resolutions:  1km (202.6 KB),  500m (627.8 KB),  250m (1.9 MB)   
      Bands Used: 1,4,3   
      Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC   
      
      
      
   https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-06-11   
       
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