Western Wildfires Hurt East Coast Air Quality—It's Time to Rally Together

When I was watching the horrific videos of flooding in China, my sense of foreboding was heightened by the itching of my eyeballs. The air here in Durham, North Carolina, was decidedly hazy and unpleasant. This was due, I was told, to the wildfires burning thousands of miles away.

It was even worse in New York City: The air quality index in Manhattan reached 130 on Tuesday night and further spiked to 157 on Wednesday morning. For reference, an index of 100 is the point where health is considered to be at risk. "Due to the fact that smoke particles are small and light, they can be transported hundreds if not a few thousand miles away from their source," said AccuWeather meteorologist Alex DaSilva.

And it wasn't just New York. The smoke from more than 80 wildfires in the American West impacted cities in the East Coast like Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Pittsburgh. In Canada, Toronto experienced similar hazy skies and deteriorating air quality.

"We're seeing lots of fires producing a tremendous amount of smoke, and ... by the time that smoke gets to the eastern portion of the country where it's usually thinned out, there's just so much smoke in the atmosphere from all these fires that it's still pretty thick," David Lawrence, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, told ABC. "Over the last two years we've seen this phenomenon."

For regions not used to wildfires, the dirty-looking skies and itching in our throats were undoubtedly a disturbing experience. And for those with respiratory illnesses or other health conditions—especially those who already deal regularly with the unequal impact of pollution—the situation was especially troublesome.

Yet folks out West were quick to point out that this is something they’ve been living with for years. And some suggested—quite fairly—that watching East Coasters "wake up" to this threat was a little bittersweet. Here’s how West Coast climate podcaster Amy Westervelt described the sensation: 

In New York City's case, the city is not known for its clean air and clear skies. Huge problems still persist with building-related emissions, for example, and it’s not exactly a utopia for cyclists just yet. But the city has also seen significant progress in recent years, from electric garbage trucks to some interesting traffic experiments. 

The trouble is, as the spread of smoke shows, localized solutions alone cannot keep us safe. Emissions are a worldwide problem, and we need to be making progress everywhere in order to limit how bad things get. In that sense, while it must indeed be galling to watch people realize it’s a problem only once it directly impacts them, the silver lining is this: At least people are realizing it’s a problem. 

The trick, now, is to mobilize fast so that we start to actually do something about it. Just as the floods can be an impetus to depave our cities, these fires can and should be an inspiration to start drastically cutting emissions, managing wildfires, and holding those responsible for the climate crisis to account. 

And here we need to be very careful about who we deem "responsible." As fires continued to burn, news channels reported that a couple whose gender reveal party had started a previous fire were going to be charged with manslaughter. Whether such prosecution is right or wrong is a debatable point, but it’s hard to argue with podcaster and climate essayist Mary Annaïse Heglar when she suggests that at least some of our attention should also be focused elsewhere: