Skip to main content
Smoke from the wildfires in Canada blankets New York City. | Photo credit: Anthony Quintano

Smoke from the wildfires in Canada blankets New York City. | Photo credit: Anthony Quintano

June 9, 2023

Canadian Wildfires Blanket Eastern U.S. with Smoke

Ask Students: Where has wildfire smoke from Canada degraded air quality in the United States? Who is impacted by high levels of air pollution?

Share

Share On Facebook
Share On Twitter
Share On Pinterest
Share On LinkedIn
Email

Hundreds of wildfires continue to burn across Canada and many of them are out of control. The smoke is putting millions of Americans under air quality alerts, prompting warnings to stay indoors to avoid exposure to pollution.

For a transcript of this story, click here.

Remote video URL

Discussion Questions

  • Where has wildfire smoke from Canada degraded air quality in the United States?
  • According to associate professor Peter DeCarlo, who is impacted by high levels of air pollution?
  • According to DeCarlo, why is exposure to air pollutants so harmful to our health?
  • According to reporter Stephanie Sy, how is Canada trying to contain the wildfires?
  • According to climate scientist Kristina Dahl, what factors have worsened the severity of wildfires around the world?

Focus Questions

Climate scientist Kristina Dahl notes that there are several factors that have exacerbated the devastation caused by the recent wildfires in Canada. How has climate change affected the severity of wildfires? And what can be done to mitigate these effects?

Media Literacy: The journalists interviewed a climate scientist and an associate professor, and also included speeches by government officials. Who else would you have interviewed or liked to have heard more from?

Extension Activity

According to climate scientist Kristina Dahl, climate change is one of the factors driving worsening wildfires around the world. What is being done to address it? Read about a new Environmental Protection Agency rule that seeks to cut pollutants that contribute to smog. Evaluate who is supporting or challenging the rule–and what do they each have to gain?

Lesson Plans on Climate Change

Explore more resources for educators to find a wide-range of relevant preK-12 lessons on climate change or supporting young people as they continue to lead the conversation around the climate change crisis.

Republished with permission from PBS NewsHour Classroom.

PBS NewsHour Classroom

PBS NewsHour Classroom helps teachers and students identify the who, what, where and why-it-matters of the major national and international news stories.

Advertisement

Post a comment

Log in or sign up to post a comment.