JAKARTA – Americans witnessed an extraordinary bright red sun last week. This view makes for great photos, but the cause of this change is not pleasant.

This bright color is caused by 84 forest fires which have hit parts of Canada, notably in Alberta, and which are expected to continue over the coming days.

Smoke from the ongoing fires has spread 3,600 km, creating a layer of haze that covers the sun, making it appear emergency red. Residents of New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Illinois and Iowa were among those who witnessed the bright red sun.

Meteorologists say smoke particles are carried by jet stream across the United States to the northeast, causing poor air quality. The bright red color is caused by smoke particles filtering out shorter wavelengths of light, so only red and orange wavelengths are visible. The sun also seemed dim because of the thick smoke blowing from Canada.

Wildfires have burned nearly a million hectares in western Canada, mainly in the northwestern province of Alberta. More than 30,000 people have been evacuated from the region to escape the fires.

The fires broke out because Canada experienced an unusually dry spring accompanied by a heat wave.

National Weather Service (NWS) in Montana says the air quality is very unhealthy and recommends people stay indoors if possible. The same warning was issued for eastern Colorado.

“If the smoke is thick or becomes thick in your neighborhood, you may want to stay indoors. This is especially true for people with heart conditions, respiratory illnesses, toddlers, and the elderly,” it says. 'warning.

The Utah Department of Environmental Quality also warned that air quality will remain “unhealthy for sensitive groups” through Monday, May 20.

However, the NWS in New York said the smoke was at more than 20,000 feet above sea level and would not cause health problems for people with respiratory illnesses in the northeastern United States.

While Canadians battle fires, Americans have been watching red sunrises and sunsets for more than a week. “Look at the very red sun rising over New York City. This is due to wildfire smoke moving above us from the fires in Canada,” the NWS wrote, as cited by the NWS. Daily mail.

The tweet then sparked shares of sunrise and sunset images that appeared to have been taken with a camera filter.

Satellite images shared by the NWS show smoke moving across the northern United States and blanketing eastern states in pollutants.

Alberta authorities hope cooler temperatures and rain forecast over the coming weeks will help firefighters battle blazes in the oil-rich province, although storms could hamper their efforts.

This year, Alberta Wildfire responded to 496 fires burning more than two million hectares, compared to just 1,134 fires in 2022.

“This year’s total is almost 2,000 times higher than last year,” Christie Tucker, information unit manager at Alberta Wildfire, said in a statement.

However, the strange red sun has been visible since last week and is expected to persist for the next few days.

This year's record temperatures and lack of rain have led to widespread fires across Canada.

Alberta was hardest hit, with about 275 homes, businesses and other properties damaged and more than 10,000 people forced to evacuate their homes Friday.

Josée St-Onge, information officer for Alberta Wildfire, said in an interview with Radio-Canada Saturday morning May 20, the firefighters continued their work.

“Good progress has been made in containing many of these bushfires, by building fences and fire stations around communities, but we face a difficult day today,” he said. declared.

“It's definitely going to be a long journey. A fire of this magnitude is going to burn very intensely,” St-Onge added.

Tag: forest fires in Canada