Canada’s forest fires have consumed an area about as large as South Carolina and larger than 10 other US states.
(Bloomberg) — Canada’s forest fires have consumed an area about as large as South Carolina and larger than 10 other US states.
Across Canada, 3,030 fires have charred 8 million hectares (30,888 square miles), according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. South Carolina has a land area of 30,061 square miles, according to the US Census Bureau.
The charred area is larger than Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia.
Smoke from the fires has darkened city skies across the US and Canada for weeks and the plume has crossed the ocean to Europe. The eastern US is covered with air quality alerts from Iowa to Maine, including New York City, where air quality is poor enough that people who suffer from respiratory ailments should stay indoors.
Canada’s largest city, Toronto, has also experienced some of the worst air quality in the world this week.
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