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Tag: Natural Disasters/Catastrophes

  • How dangerous is U.S. air from Canada’s wildfires? Here’s how to read the EPA’s Air Quality Index.

    How dangerous is U.S. air from Canada’s wildfires? Here’s how to read the EPA’s Air Quality Index.

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    With hundreds of wildfires still burning in Canada, a large swath of the U.S. Northeast continues to suffer under hazy skies and compromised air into Wednesday. In fact, according to an international gauge, New York City had the second-worst air in the world early Wednesday.

    As of late Tuesday, Quebec’s forest fire prevention agency reported that more than 150 blazes were active, including more than 110 deemed out of control, the Associated Press reported. A hot, dry summer is expected for the province and beyond.

    Related: Air quality worsens in U.S. as Canada faces toughest wildfire season on record

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said its Air Quality Index registers above 151 in some areas of the northeastern U.S., spreading down into the Mid-Atlantic region. The upper Midwest reported concerning issues to start the week as well. Once an Air Quality Index reading clears 100, it’s typically a warning to people who have respiratory conditions, including asthma, to take precautions.

    What is the Air Quality Index?

    The EPA established an AQI for five major air pollutants regulated by the 50-year-old Clean Air Act. The agency takes readings at more than 1,000 air-quality stations around the country and includes special sensors activated by smoke in particular, for real-time readings.

    Each of these pollutants measured by the EPA requires a standard deemed important to public health:

    • ground-level ozone

    • particle pollution (also known as particulate matter, including PM2.5 and PM10)

    • carbon monoxide

    • sulfur dioxide

    • nitrogen dioxide

    Especially during wildfire season, fine particles in soot, ash and dust can fill the air. And because it’s nearly summer, the combination of smoke and hotter temperatures can generate more ozone pollution, which can aggravate respiratory issues.

    Related: Cheery climate news? Cancer-linked ozone hole blamed on hairspray and A/C continues to close.

    How do you read the EPA’s Air Quality Index?

    The EPA says to think of the AQI as a yardstick that runs from 0 to 500. The higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater the health concern.

    For example, an AQI value of 50 or below represents good air quality for essentially all the population. A reading above 100 typically means that the outdoor air remains safe for most, but seniors, pregnant people and children are at increased risk. Those with heart and lung disease may also be at greater risk. And an AQI value over 300 represents hazardous air quality that will impact to some degree nearly everyone exposed to the air, even healthy people.

    Because remembering the severity of number ranges may be challenging, EPA has assigned a color to each range, with green and yellow representing the most favorable conditions, and orange, red, purple and maroon reflective of levels that are progressively worse, topping out at maroon or readings between 301 to 500.

    For comparison, the record-setting wildfire years of 2020 and 2021 meant that outdoor air near Portland, Ore., on select days produced an AQI above 400.

    A separate measurement, from the international site, IQ Air, shows New York City ranking second for worst air globally Wednesday, behind Delhi, India. Detroit ranked within the top 5.

    Visit the government-run Air Now site for the latest readings.

    You can also examine longer-term air quality by select region.

    What are the health concerns from poor air quality?

    The EPA and public health officials warn citizens against regular exposure to fire-impacted air, especially for outdoor workers, even if local readings aren’t especially dangerous.

    The effects of air pollution can be mild, like eye and throat irritation. But, for some, those effects turn serious, including heart and respiratory issues. And pollutants might linger longer than hazy, discolored skies persist, causing inflammation of the lung tissue and increasing vulnerability to infections.

    Lingering particle measurements are picked up when the AQI tracks PM 2.5, which quantifies the concentration of particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers. When inhaled, these nearly undetectable particles can increase the risk of heart attack, select cancers and acute respiratory infections, especially in children and older adults.

    Smokers, including those using vape pens, can invite added health risk with wildfire smoke exposure, say public health officials.

    Read: Non-smoking lung cancer is on the rise. Blame pollution, says American Lung Association.

    What precautions can be taken when there’s dangerous air outdoors? Do masks help?

    • Stay indoors if you can, with the windows and doors closed.

    • The EPA recommends eliminating outdoor exercise such as walking, jogging or cycling, once an AQI moves above 150. That includes gardening and mowing the lawn.

    • If you have to work outside, additional breaks out of the smoke may be necessary.

    • If you have air conditioning, run it continuously, not on the auto cycle. It’s also recommended to close the fresh air intake so that smoke doesn’t get inside the house.

    • But if you’re still worried about the outdoor air entering your home, air purifiers, often the size of table fans or smaller, can reduce indoor particulate matter in smaller spaces.

    • Avoid stove-top cooking that could increase indoor smoke, even if you plan to run the overhead fan.

    • Do masks help? An N95 respirator mask can filter out some of the particles. If fitted and worn correctly, the N95 mask filters out 95% of particles larger than 0.3 microns, so they’re very efficient with keeping out the 2.5-micron particles in wildfire smoke, say health officials. Notably, even an N95 does little to protect against harmful gases in wildfire smoke, including carbon monoxide. 

    Read more at the EPA’s air-quality guide for particle pollution.

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  • Ukraine accuses Russia of blowing up dam near Kherson; flood could displace thousands

    Ukraine accuses Russia of blowing up dam near Kherson; flood could displace thousands

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    KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine on Tuesday accused Russian forces of blowing up a major dam and hydroelectric power station in a part of southern Ukraine they control, threatening a massive flood that could displace hundreds of thousands of people, and ordered residents downriver to evacuate.

    Russian news agency Tass quoted an unspecified Russian government official as saying the dam had “collapsed” due to damage.

    Ukrainian authorities have previously warned that the dam’s failure could unleash 18 million cubic meters (4.8 billion gallons) of water and flood Kherson and dozens of other areas where hundreds of thousands of people live, as well as threatening a meltdown at a nearby Russian-occupied nuclear power plant. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called an emergency meeting to deal with the crisis.

    The Ukrainian Interior Ministry wrote on Telegram that the Kakhovka dam, had been blown up, and called for residents of 10 villages on the river’s right bank and parts of the city of Kherson downriver to gather essential documents and pets, turn off appliances, and leave, while cautioning against possible disinformation.

    Footage from what appeared to be a monitoring camera overlooking the dam that was circulating on social media purported to show a flash, explosion and breakage of the dam.

    Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, said in a video posted to Telegram shortly before 7 a.m. that “the Russian army has committed yet another act of terror,” and warned that water will reach “critical levels” within five hours.

    Zelenskyy moved to convene an emergency meeting of the country’s security and defense council following the dam explosion, the council’s secretary, Oleksiy Danilov, wrote on Twitter.

    Ukraine and Russia have previously accused each other of targeting the dam with attacks, and last October Zelenskyy predicted that Russia would destroy the dam in order to cause a flood.

    Authorities, experts and residents have for months expressed concerns about water flows through — and over — the Kakhovka dam.

    In February, water levels were so low that many feared a meltdown at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, whose cooling systems are supplied with water from the Kakhovka reservoir held up by the dam.

    By mid-May, after heavy rains and snow melt, water levels rose beyond normal levels, flooding nearby villages. Satellite images showed water washing over damaged sluice gates.

    Ukraine controls five of the six dams along the Dnipro River, which runs from its northern border with Belarus down to the Black Sea and is crucial for the entire country’s drinking water and power supply. The Kakhovka dam — the one furthest downstream in the Kherson region — is controlled by Russian forces.

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  • Turkey ETF tumbles and lira slumps to record low after major earthquake adds to economic woes

    Turkey ETF tumbles and lira slumps to record low after major earthquake adds to economic woes

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    Turkey’s lira hit a record low and its stock market tumbled on Monday after a major earthquake killed nearly 1,500 people and wounded thousands of others in the country, piling on further economic hardship in a region already grappling with economic instability and geopolitical turmoil. Another 700 deaths have been reported in Syria, according to Reuters.

    The Turkish lira
    USDTRY,
    +0.05%
    fell to a record low of 18.83 against a strong dollar on Monday, while the country’s major stock index, the Turkey ISE National 100
    XU100,
    -1.35%
    — which tracks the performance of 100 companies selected from the National Market, real estate investment trusts and venture capital investment trusts listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange — tumbled 1.4%. 

    The iShares MSCI Turkey ETF
    TUR,
    -1.88%    ,
    which tracks several dozen Turkish equities, slumped 1.9%. 

    Also see: 7.8-magnitude quake kills more than 1,900, knocks down buildings in southeast Turkey and Syria

    At least 1,498 people were killed and 8,533 people were injured in Turkey when a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck central Turkey and northwest Syria early Monday morning, followed by another large quake in the afternoon, according to Yunus Sezer, the head of Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency.

    The U.S. Geological Survey estimated on Monday that there was a high probability that the economic losses from the initial earthquake could top $1 billion.

    The ICE U.S. Dollar Index
    DXY,
    +0.72%    ,
     a measure of the currency against a basket of six major rivals, jumped 0.7% on Monday.

    See: Oil prices look to extend last week’s slide

    Oil futures traded lower as of Monday morning despite news reports that Turkey has halted crude-oil flows to its export terminal in Ceyhan. Turkish pipeline operator BOTAS said there was no damage on main pipelines which carry crude oil from Iraq and Azerbaijan to Turkey, according to Reuters.

    Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government has stopped shipments through the pipeline which runs from Iraq’s northern Kirkuk fields to Ceyhan, the region’s ministry of natural resources said on Monday.

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  • Soccer star Christian Atsu ‘under the rubble’ following Turkey earthquake, report says. ‘We remain hopeful for positive news’ says Ghana Football Association

    Soccer star Christian Atsu ‘under the rubble’ following Turkey earthquake, report says. ‘We remain hopeful for positive news’ says Ghana Football Association

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    Ghanaian soccer star Christian Atsu is “under the rubble” following the deadly that earthquake hit Turkey, according to a report.

    The former Chelsea, Newcastle and Everton star plays for Turkish Super Lig club Hatayspor in the city of Antakya in southern Turkey.

    Istanbul-based sports journalist Yagiz Sabuncuoglu tweeted Monday that Atsu and Hatayspor Sporting Director Taner Savut were “left under the rubble,” adding that “search and rescue teams are looking for two names.”

    “We pray for Ghana International Christian Atsu and victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria,” tweeted the Ghana Football Association. “We continue with our efforts to establish contact with officials of Hataspor and the Turkish Football Federation, considering the difficult situation.”

    “Our thoughts and prayers are with Christian Atsu and our brothers and sisters in Turkey and Syria. We remain hopeful for positive news,” the Ghana Football Association wrote.

    Related: Turkey quake assistance ‘already underway,’ says U.S.’s Blinken

    “Praying for some positive news, @ChristianAtsu20,” tweeted his former club Newcastle United.

    Soccer star Yannick Bolasie tweeted praying hands in response to Yagiz Sabuncuoglu’s tweet.

    On Sunday Atsu tweeted out images from Hatayspor’s victory over Kasimpasa earlier that day, in which he scored the winning goal.

    The powerful 7.8 magnitude quake rocked wide swaths of Turkey and Syria early Monday, toppling hundreds of buildings and killing more than 1,900 people.

    Turkey’s Daily Sabah reports that the runway of Hatay Airport. which serves Antakya, was split in two by the earthquake

    Additional reporting by Robert Schroeder.

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  • Arctic blast threatens negative-50ºF temperatures in New England, while Texas power grid is again sputtering

    Arctic blast threatens negative-50ºF temperatures in New England, while Texas power grid is again sputtering

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    Rising temperatures offered some hope Friday for frustrated Texans days after they lost power — and in many cases heat — in a deadly winter storm, while a new wave of frigid weather rolling into the Northeast led communities to close schools and open warming centers.

    Wind chills in some higher elevations of the Northeast could punch below minus 50º (minus 45º Celsius) as an Arctic front swept in from Canada, forecasters said.

    “Some of the most extreme weather was expected atop New Hampshire’s Mount Washington, the Northeast’s highest peak, where winds gusted to nearly 100 miles per hour and wind chills could reach minus 100º Fahrenheit. ”

    In Texas, officials in Austin compared damage from fallen trees and iced-over power lines to tornadoes as they came under criticism for slow repairs and shifting timelines to restore power. More than 240,000 customers across the state lacked power early Friday, down from 430,000 on Thursday, according to PowerOutage.us.

    “Our heat source is our fireplace … and we’ve been in bed, snuggled up under like five or six blankets,” Edward Dahlke, of Spring Branch, southwest of Austin, told KSAT-TV. “Just think that our utility companies need to do a better job making sure our infrastructure is maintained properly.”

    See: Frustrated Texans endure another icy winter storm with no power, heat

    Pauline Frerich, also of Spring Branch, told KSAT that she had no way to prepare a meal without electricity, and that she worries about the cost of replacing hundreds of dollars of spoiled food. As the storm swept over this week, the indoor temperature fell to 29 degrees (-1 Celsius), and the sounds of tree limbs breaking unsettled her.

    “And you didn’t know, was it on the roof, was it just in the yard?” Frerich told KSAT. “But it’s very nerve-wracking.”

    Power failures were most widespread in Austin. Impatience rose there among nearly 123,000 customers days after the electricity first went out.

    Thursday night, officials backtracked on early estimates that power would be fully restored by Friday evening. Damage was worse than originally calculated, they said, and they could no longer provide an estimate.

    “The city let its citizens down. The situation is unacceptable to the community, and it’s unacceptable to me,” Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, a Democrat, said at a news conference Friday. “And I’m sorry.”

    The outages recalled the 2021 blackouts in Texas, when hundreds of people died after the state’s power grid was pushed to the brink of total failure because of a lack of generation. There have been no reports of deaths from this week’s power outages, though the storm and freeze have been blamed for at least 12 traffic fatalities on slick roads in Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

    In New England, temperatures began plunging Friday morning.

    “The worst part of the upcoming cold snap is going to be the wind,” which has already topped 80 mph (129 kph) in higher elevations, said National Weather Service lead forecaster Bob Oravec. Frigid wind chills — the combined effect of wind and cold air on exposed skin — are expected Saturday.

    The worst wind chills in the populated areas of the Northeast shouldn’t go lower than minus 40º (minus 40º Celsius), he said.

    Wind gusts as high as 40 mph raised the prospect of power outages in Maine, and communities began opening warming stations.

    Even cold-weather sports were curtailed. Some ski resorts scaled back operations, eliminating night skiing and reducing lift operations. A popular weekend pond hockey tournament was postponed, and the National Toboggan Championship pushed Saturday’s races back by a day.

    Schools closed Friday in Boston and in Manchester, New Hampshire’s largest city. “In these conditions, frostbite can develop in as little as 30 minutes,” an announcement on the Manchester district’s website read. “This is simply too cold for students who walk home.”

    Some of the most extreme weather was expected atop New Hampshire’s Mount Washington, the Northeast’s highest peak and home to a weather observatory, where winds gusted to nearly 100 mph (160 kph) and wind chills could reach minus 100 (minus 73 Celsius).

    The system is expected to move out of the region Sunday.

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  • Dig-out begins after deadly winter storm claims 27 lives in western New York alone

    Dig-out begins after deadly winter storm claims 27 lives in western New York alone

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    BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) —  The death toll from a pre-Christmas blizzard that paralyzed the Buffalo area and much of the country has risen to 27 in western New York, authorities said Monday, as the region dug out from one of the worst weather-related disasters in its history.

    The dead have been found in cars, in their homes and in snowbanks. Some died while shoveling. The storm that walloped much of the country is now blamed for at least 48 deaths nationwide, with rescue and recovery efforts continuing Monday.

    Living With Climate Change: Climate change and the polar vortex: Winter storms are normal, but this string of severe Christmas weather isn’t typical

    The blizzard roared through the western New York state on Friday and Saturday, stranding motorists, knocking out power and preventing emergency crews from reaching residents in frigid homes and idled vehicles.

    “ Buffalo, N.Y., was experiencing its longest sustained blizzard conditions ever, said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a native Buffalonian. ”

    Huge snowdrifts nearly covered cars Monday, and there were thousands of houses, some adorned in unlit holiday displays, darkened by lack of power.

    The massive storm is expected to claim more lives because it trapped some residents inside houses and knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses.

    Extreme weather stretched from the Great Lakes near Canada to the Rio Grande along the border with Mexico. About 60% of the U.S. population faced some sort of winter weather advisory or warning, and temperatures plummeted dramatically below normal from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians.

    The National Weather Service said Sunday that the frigid arctic air “enveloping much of the eastern half of the U.S.” would move away slowly.

    Hurricane-force winds and snow causing whiteout conditions paralyzed emergency response efforts in Buffalo.

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Buffalo native, said almost every fire truck in the city was stranded Saturday and implored people Sunday to respect an ongoing driving ban in the region. The National Weather Service said the snow total at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport stood at 43 inches (1.1 meters) at 7 a.m. Sunday. Officials said the airport would be shut through Tuesday morning.

    With snow swirling down impassable streets, forecasters warned an additional 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 centimeters) of snow was possible in some areas through early Monday morning amid wind gusts of 40 mph (64 kph). Police said Sunday evening that there were two “isolated” instances of looting during the storm.

    Two people died in their suburban Cheektowaga, N.Y., homes Friday when emergency crews could not reach them in time to treat medical conditions. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said 10 more people died there during the storm, including six in Buffalo, and warned there may be more dead.

    “Some were found in cars. Some were found on the street in snowbanks,” Poloncarz said. “We know there are people who have been stuck in cars for more than two days.”

    The Margin: Why you should always keep cat litter in your car — and other winter storm tips

    Freezing conditions and power outages had Buffalonians scrambling to get to anywhere with heat amid what Hochul described as the longest sustained blizzard conditions ever in the city.

    Ditjak Ilunga of Gaithersburg, Md., was on his way to visit relatives in Hamilton, Ontario, for Christmas with his daughters Friday when their SUV was trapped in Buffalo. Unable to get help, they spent hours with the engine running, buffeted by wind and nearly buried in snow.

    By 4 a.m. Saturday, their fuel nearly gone, Ilunga made a desperate choice to risk the howling storm to reach a nearby shelter. He carried 6-year-old Destiny on his back while 16-year-old Cindy clutched their Pomeranian puppy, following his footprints through drifts.

    “If I stay in this car I’m going to die here with my kids,” Ilunga recalled thinking. He cried when the family walked through the shelter’s doors. “It’s something I will never forget in my life.”

    Travelers’ weather woes continued, with hundreds of flight cancellations already and more expected after a bomb cyclone — when atmospheric pressure drops very quickly in a strong storm — developed near the Great Lakes, stirring up blizzard conditions, including heavy winds and snow.

    The storm knocked out power in communities from Maine to Seattle. But heat and lights were steadily being restored across the U.S. According to the website poweroutage.us, fewer than 200,000 customers were without power Sunday at 3 p.m. Eastern time — down from a maximum of 1.7 million.

    The Margin: Five tips for staying safe and warm during a power outage

    The mid-Atlantic grid operator had called for its 65 million consumers to conserve energy amid the freeze Saturday.

    Storm-related deaths were reported all over the country, from six motorists killed in crashes in Missouri, Kansas and Kentucky to a woman who fell through Wisconsin river ice.

    In Jackson, Miss., city officials on Christmas Day announced residents must now boil their drinking water due to water lines bursting in the frigid temperatures.

    MarketWatch contributed.

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