A satellite image shared Sunday shows the extent to which Canadian wildfire smoke continues to engulf the U.S.
The image, shared by the National Weather Service’s (NWS) Binghamton branch, shows the smoke swirling down the middle and northern portions of the eastern U.S., all the way to the Gulf Coast. The hazy smoke appears to cover a majority of states east of Texas, the Great Lakes region and all of New England. Some areas, such as eastern North Carolina, are not suffering as badly with the present wind currents, but the smoke is clearly visible in the skies over areas such as Raleigh.
Satellite image from early evening showing the hazy smoke in the atmosphere from Canadian Wildfires across the eastern third of the country down to the Gulf Coast!! #nywx #pawx #canadafires pic.twitter.com/pfPBKarHUr
— NWS Binghamton (@NWSBinghamton) June 18, 2023
Wildfires are currently burning throughout almost all of Canada’s provinces, according to NASA’s fire map. Parts of Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta appear to be the most impacted at the time of writing. Reports suggest the fires are only getting worse, and it may be impossible to rebuild so much of what has already been lost in the devastation, according to The Guardian.
Air quality indexes across the eastern U.S. have skyrocketed for the start of summer, with parts of the northeast most viciously impacted, according to the Pocono Record. New York and other parts of the northeast have also been warned to prepare for orange skies, Fox 10 Phoenix reported. (RELATED: Officials Warn Wildfire Smoke May Last Through September In US)
But images from NASA suggest the particle-rich smog is presenting a significant danger to millions of Americans, Geography Realm reported. Sunsets in rural North Carolina have been blood red for at least the last two weeks. And while beautiful, the horror behind them is a constant reminder of how little we can control the natural world around us.