Due to severe wildfires in Canada, the country’s East Coast and coastal areas of the United States have been engulfed in heavy smoke. Officials have issued a warning as air quality worsens.

The smoke is coming mainly from the province of Quebec, where about 160 forest fires are raging. More than 110 of these are still under control, according to the province.

The country’s environmental agency, Environment Canada, has issued an extremely high air quality alert in the capital, Ottawa, saying it poses a “very high risk” to health. In and around Toronto, there is a “high risk.”

In the United States, the National Weather Service rated the air quality of the New England region and the states of Pennsylvania and New York as “very unhealthy for all”. People with respiratory problems are advised to stay indoors.

In some places, smog causes the sun to turn red:

Wildfires have been wreaking havoc across Canada for weeks. In total, about 30,000 people had to flee their homes. The region, the size of Belgium, has been dealing with wildfires for more than a month.

Every year Canada deals with wildfires, but this year already has a striking number. May is not usually the peak of wildfires.

“The fact that it burns so much is due to a combination of factors. There was little precipitation in the winter. As a result, the snow cover was not as dense, and the hot spring melted it faster,” said Guido, a climate scientist and professor. Van der Werf of the VU University in Amsterdam previously spoke about the fire.

However, this fire did not tell us much about the rest of the year. “I’m shocked by the magnitude, but it could be different again next year. It doesn’t mean this year will be a record year. For example, 2020 was the least fire year in Canada,” the professor said.