Inquisitive minds want to know, and so do I: What's the deal on all these wildfires in Canada? They send smoky, ashy air way down here to Maryland, and it's like when Spicoli and his friends roll up on the parking lot at Ridgemont High.
I put on my Google goggles and looked it up. These fires are out of control across Western Canada. The reasons are the deadly triumvirate of an ongoing drought, warmer-than-usual temperatures, and lack of rainfall.
The big one going on now started late last week in British Columbia and has quadrupled in size since it flamed.
The drought has dried out forests, and led Saskatchewan and Manitoba to declare provincial emergencies.
And the outlook for the immediate future is not so rosy, either. You hear the meteorologists talk about upper-level winds and the jet stream, and they are spreading the smoke out of Canada eastward and southward, and that's how we wind up with it.
Not only that, but the smoke is causing air quality issues in many areas. The Air Quality Index in lot of places (not Maryland yet) has reached unhealthy levels. And...the visibility is being reduced with all the hazy skies.
Smoke is expected to keep on billowing down on our way for the next few days.
The only good thing about all this is that we haven't heard any more silly talk about Canada becoming the "51st State."
They have enough problems to deal with already.
 |
| This map shows how many Americans are listening to Céline Dion at any given moment. |
No comments:
Post a Comment