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Thick haze over the New York borough of Manhatten
Photo: Julie Jacobson / dpa
Clouds of smoke from violent forest fires in the north-west of the USA blur visibility on the east coast, which is almost 4,000 kilometers away.
In large cities like New York, a misty veil covered the sun on Tuesday.
The environmental agency of the state of New York issued a health alarm due to increased particulate matter pollution.
A representative from the agency said it was not unusual for smoke from fires in the west of the country to penetrate the region, but this time it was in a lower layer of air.
The weather service predicted a cold front for Wednesday, which should put an end to the phenomenon.
A fire destroyed 137,000 hectares of forest
Authorities in Philadelphia also warned of bad air on Tuesday.
In addition, the effects of the seasonal fires in the states of Washington, Oregon or Montana on the west coast in the federal capital Washington DC, Chicago and in parts of Canada were felt.
While massive amounts of water recently disturbed lives and houses in Germany, the west of the USA is struggling with severe drought.
Huge forest fires are currently raging there again.
In the state of Oregon alone, a fire has so far destroyed more than 137,000 hectares of forest.
Countless fires are also blazing in other states along the US west coast and in Canada.
In the western Canadian province of British Columbia, more than 2,500 evacuations were ordered on Monday.
A total of around 300 forest fires are now blazing in the province.
According to scientists, climate change is increasing the drought in the region, creating the conditions for fire to spread.
Fires in Russia too
In the east of Russia, according to the regional authorities, 205 fires are raging in Yakutia alone.
According to data from the forest protection authority on Tuesday, the fire area on which the fire is being extinguished is around 680,000 hectares, slightly smaller than the day before.
680,000 hectares correspond to about half the area of Schleswig-Holstein.
2100 firefighters are in action.
They want to prevent the flames from spreading to villages.
Environmental protection organizations believe that the situation across the country is much worse than the authorities say.
Satellite data show that a total of three million hectares is currently burning in Russia, reports Greenpeace.
The statistics of the forest protection authority speak of around two million.
jme / AFP / dpa
