Wildfires blanket US in toxic smoke: Trump blames Canada | DW News

[00:00:00]As skies fill with the thick smoke of wildfires, some American cities are the most polluted in the world right now.

[00:00:08]Officials warn people to stay indoors.

[00:00:10]The World Cup final hangs in the balance, and Trump blames Canada. The blazes are also burning in the US state of Minnesota, but hundreds are churning out of control in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Ontario, and they're getting worse. US President Donald Trump says the toxic clouds billowing over the border are unacceptable. He's threatening to hike tariffs to cover the costs, which he says will run into the billions. There are health alerts from the Midwest to the Northeast. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says the United States could do more to combat climate change, which is leading to warmer and more extreme temperatures around the world. They're likely to run into each other at the World Cup final in New Jersey on Sunday.

[00:00:55]The meeting could be fiery.

[00:00:58]Courtney Howard is an emergency room physician and chair of the Global Climate and Health Alliance. Courtney, thousands of fans are expected at this football match, and it's in an open stadium. Just looking at some of these pictures of New York, I'd be worried about seeing the ball, let alone the players who'd be breathing in a lot more gunk than the spectators sitting on their seats. But I wouldn't be out and about anyway. I mean, taking photos, the the red skies, breathing in that stuff is hazardous and what it does to your body and brain. Courtney, how concerned should fans be about the air quality in the US right now?

[00:01:39]>> Just visually looking at that air quality, it certainly looks like it's in the severely hazardous range. And so the smoke associated with wildfires is a toxic soup of the products of combustion of whatever burns. So if it's trees, there's different elements and if it's houses, etc. And so the part we really study that we look at a lot is called particulate matter 2.5. So PM 2.5. So it's less than 2.5 microns. And the reason that we care about that a lot is that those particles are small enough that they can go all the way down into our alvoli and then the ultrafine ones can cross over into our bloodstream and lead to inflammatory cascades. So because of that we see effects from the local irritation of the smoke. So we can have itchy watery eyes, low-grade headache. Some people will start to cough, have runny nose. But we also particularly over the course of a few days see asthma exacerbations in people with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations and even heart attacks, cardiac arrest. And of course for pregnant women, those inflammatory cascades, we think that it's actually starting to affect their placental physiology. And so you we're seeing some studies that show preterm birth and low birth weights. Those are the acute impacts. And longterm there's one or two studies that show that it may lead to increased rates of uh brain cancer and lung cancer. So really this is a severe public health threat.

[00:03:08]>> Okay. So it can not only get into the body uh and into the bloodstream but also into the organs. Um and you're talking about houses as well burning down not just um forests and Canada has massive forests but we're already talking about one community at least that's been burnt to the ground. So plastics um hazardous material um as well as vegetation that that we're breathing in.

[00:03:36]>> Yes, it really is a toxic soup and the exact components will vary just depending on the region and what has what has burned there and also how far away they are from the sight of the fire because the proportions of the different elements in the smoke change as it travels farther away from the source.

[00:03:52]So, are there precautions you can take if you still want to go see the game on Sunday or or go sightseeing at least as a tourist?

[00:04:02]>> Absolutely. So, I live in the subarctic.

[00:04:04]We are warming at triple the global rates. So, unfortunately, we've been seeing severe wildfires since at least 2014. And so what we do when it's very smoky and what the public health advice recommends is if you can stay inside and certainly people with pre-existing conditions, so asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, elderly people with heart trouble, um or pregnant women really should be staying inside during smoky periods and keeping the windows closed, doors closed, trying to get an air filtration device inside their home to take care of the smoke that inevitably leaks in to a certain extent because nobody's building envelope is completely tight. If you have to go out and you know they'll they'll have to make a decision as to as to how to proceed with the the World Cup match. But I would be wearing if it's as severely smoky as it was in those those photos um an N95 mask. So those are the ones that fit closely to your face and what you're aiming for is an N95 that fits well enough that when you breathe in the air is not coming around the side, it's actually going through the mask. And if you do have a well- fitted N95 mask, it can reduce your exposure to the particullet by about 90%. So that would be a much safer way for spectators to to watch the sport.

[00:05:17]>> Well, the White House World Cup task force says it's following the situation.

[00:05:22]Let's listen in.

[00:05:24]>> We're monitoring it closely. Uh I know that the Spanish team came to Montlair, I believe yesterday.

[00:05:30]um wasn't sure if they were actually going to come in or maybe stay out there, you know, maybe out of the area so they could practice and come in maybe a little bit later. Um but it's certainly something that I know that FIFA is discussing.

[00:05:42]>> What do you think of the the fact that Spain practiced outdoors in New Jersey in hazardous air? I mean, these guys are healthy, but as you said, it it can affect all of us.

[00:05:56]My background before medicine was actually kinesiology and I was an athletic trainer for a national level lacrosse team for three years. And so in fact, you know, those are highlevel athletes and you want them of course functioning at their best during the World Cup final. There will be a proportion of people on that team likely who have at least a certain degree of tendency towards bronco spasm. So people who maybe when they were little if they got a cold they might have needed a puffer but who kind of grew out of it.

[00:06:24]What we see during smoky periods is those are the people who start to show up in the emergency department a week in two weeks in and they say, "Hey, I'm coughing a lot. Um, you know, I used to use a puffer, but I haven't needed one in decades." And then we give them a puffer and they feel a lot better. And it's just because their lungs are starting to to react to the irritant in there. So, you know, had they had an option to practice indoors in a well- filtered facility, that would have been safer. Um and so there may very well be a proportion of uh people on that team who are heading into the final maybe not totally in their peak condition but it may be what we say uh what we call subclinical. It may be to a degree that we would be able to find it on for instance a pulmonary function test when we have people in the lab and we get them to blow into a a sort of pipe and go as fast as they possibly can and actually measure uh their volume over a given period of time. it might be at a sort of point where we would have picked something up on that precision uh with testing of that degree of precision but they haven't noticed it yet in terms of symptoms. So there will be a spectrum of people in terms of impact but certainly the the safest thing to do uh in order to have the highest performance possible would be to minimize uh exposure to smoke >> minimize. So that means not not play.

[00:07:46]Well, you know, there are a lot of uh factors at play here. Certainly in Toronto over the last couple of days, they were cancelling a lot of summer camps, uh soccer camps for people because they didn't feel that it was safe for the kids to go play outside.

[00:08:02]So, you know, it will be up to public health prof uh professionals in the area to to make their call >> because I mean going out for a jog is one thing, but these guys are sprinting up and down a field breathing in a heap more air um and and need that for their bodies to function. And so, you know, if you're talking about fine particular matter getting into the the body, the bloodstream, uh and then the brain, I I wouldn't want to think about the the long-term consequences.

[00:08:32]We don't even really have great data on the long-term consequences because we haven't had wildfire smoke for to this degree of severity for very long. Uh certainly, you know, they could explore wearing an N95 mask while they're playing if it is really bad. Then I went for a run in an N95 mask not that long ago. I did yoga on my deck in an N95 mask just a couple of days ago. um that was the choice I felt I needed to make to be able to enjoy the outdoors, still exercise and protect my health. So, they might want to take a look at that. But of course, not everybody wants to exercise in an N95 mask. So, I think >> Can you also Courtney, can you also perform wearing one of those masks? Do you get enough air, enough oxygen?

[00:09:19]>> Yes. I I don't know if anyone's ever done testing in somebody sprinting uh for as long as you would sprint in a World Cup final. Certainly, I've worn them for, you know, an eight hour shift in the emergency department during COVID and and that was fine. Um I think that there will be a balance between um you know, the comfort of the mask, uh symptoms people may develop even as they're playing and certainly they move vast quantities in terms of liters of air during one of those matches. It's definitely not um ideal in terms of probably health or performance.

[00:09:51]>> So Cody, when do you reckon FIFA should consider calling off the game for the safety of the players and fans?

[00:09:59]>> Well, there's no safe level of exposure to PM 2.5. So just so people know that um we published a paper about a year ago, two years ago where we were asking to have at least under 30 micrograms per meter cubes uh inside healthc care facilities. Um that's that's a shortterm level. It would still be in the severely um sort of hazardous range. What we see during wildfire season is sometimes uh far higher than that. And so I think, you know, they're going to have to make a a decision based on sort of a risk benefit scenario in the short term. Um, and they have a lot of factors to consider. So it's sending real energy really to everybody involved in the situation. uh climate change brings health system impacts, health impacts, economic impacts. And that's why we've said for so long that uh one of the biggest things we can do for public health is to emergently decrease greenhouse gas emissions so that we don't have to spend all of this money on adaptation. We know that in fact many uh lowcarbon solutions are actually cheaper now. Um they let us live a healthy life and I think that's what we're all really aiming for. Okay, let's take a little listen to some of the people of Chicago uh who are trying to um yeah put up with the effects of this smoke.

[00:11:19]>> It's it's wild because when you look outside you think it's fog and it's completely covered the city and it's smoke because when you walk outside it burns it stings a little bit and we both have respiratory issues.

[00:11:29]>> I mean you can barely see man like even right now my eyes is look I have contacts in my eyes is literally getting misty and it's drying out my contacts.

[00:11:36]The air quality is really thick, which is why like I got the mask on today, just because at the end of the day, it's like it's almost like smoking cigarettes all day without even having to go get Newports, man. It's it's insane, bro.

[00:11:48]>> Courtney, are we beginning to view wildfire smoke as a public health issue rather than just an environmental one?

[00:11:57]>> Oh, absolutely. I've been working on climate change and health since 2009 because I'm a doctor. Um, I had worked with Doctors Without Borders. I unfortunately have had children die under my care for from se severe acute malnutrition. So the WHO has said for years that climate change is the biggest health threat of the 21st century. Four reasons uh wildfire smoke, the trauma associated with evacuation, the potential for major burns, heat related deaths, um damage to infrastructure because it actually affects sometimes your ability to provide care. many healthcare facilities themselves aren't able to stay at a temperature that's healthy for patients or keep the air clean inside malnutrition. Um really this there's good reason why the WHO has long said that climate change is the biggest health threat that we face and called for emergent decreases in greenhouse gas emissions in order to protect health. I don't I think of the environment now as the foundation of everything else that we do. I think that for a long time when I was growing up I pictured it as something lateral to the economy, lateral to health that and people called environmentalists took care of it. But it's becoming really clear that really the earth system is the foundation for everything we do. And when it's stable, that's when we get to build an economy. We get to educate people. We get to have supply chains that work. We get to have electrical grids that work. And all of that is required for us to build, staff and supply our health care systems or even just run a financial system. And so I think many of us particularly who grew up in a a western way of thinking, we need to move the environment from this thing that's beside us that somebody else deals with to the platform for all of our lives, all of our well-being, and start giving it the the respect it deserves. because if your if your platform if your foundation is unstable, everything else kind of goes and I think we're starting to see that frame. So, it's time to really attend to the stability of our ecological foundation.

[00:13:52]>> I think it's also worth pointing out that every year these wildfires seem to get worse and worse in Canada and the US is also experiencing an above average fire year with millions of acres burned as well. Do you think societies are adequately prepared for a future in which smoky skies become a more regular occurrence?

[00:14:13]>> We know for sure that they're not. Uh there has been multiple uh there have been multiple analyses done. For instance, last year in Canada, the auditor general said that our national adaptation strategy was late coming compared to most most countries. It did not address wildfire smoke and we have not invested in it to any sort of we're we're orders of magnitude below where we need to be in order to prepare our infrastructure for what we know is coming. And I think it's really important a lot of the time people say because I've done research on wildfires and so they say Dr. Howard is this a new normal? And I have to say no there's no flat line on the graph. The graph goes like this. If we want the graph because we know many of these are climate change amplified wildfires. If we want them to not get worse year on year, we need to emergently decrease greenhouse gas emissions. That's how we can get this down to a level that hopefully we can cope with without unbearably smoky summers. So, you know, there there are consequences to actions. We're living those right now. And it's normal for this to be very very scary for people. I think of it as a diagnosis that affects all of us. And when I'm an emergency physician and I unfortunately do a CT scan that shows a new cancer, I have to go into that room and tell give people bad news and I know for sure that the thing they're want going to want to know from me is the treatment plan.

[00:15:33]>> And the treatment plan that decreases the concrete risk and helps them envision a healthier future is the most important part of that interaction. So if we want people to feel confident in their health moving forwards, we need to come up with a treatment plan that is adequate to the scale of the problem.

[00:15:52]And so, yes, we do need to take a deep breath to center ourselves and and get ourselves into our best cognitive space.

[00:15:59]But then we need to a adapt to the system problems that we've already got and b take advantage of all of this new technology that we've now got that is making it possible for us to have distributed energy at in most cases a a cheaper uh rate for even a new build than previously. That's actually going to make it easier for us to keep the lights on during severe weather because a distributed electrical grid, you know, if this bit goes down, all of these other uh buildings are still able to have uh electricity. Whereas, if you have a big power grid with a single cable, you're a lot more um sort of vulnerable during a severe uh storm. And so, there's just all sorts of reasons why we need to be investing our policy.

[00:16:42]We need to be investing our our money.

[00:16:45]any subsidies we provide should not be going to the fossil fuel industry which currently you know Canada is subsidizing to the tune of billions of dollars. Um and the US is also subsidizing the fossil fuel industry as well. That's like giving money to the cigarette manufacturers at a moment when your entire population already has lung cancer.

[00:17:06]If we want to live a healthy life and be able to hand a healthy, stable planet over to our kids, we need to make investments in decisions that are in alignment with that. And that means investing in healthy lowcarbon electricity and stopping investing stopping giving public money to to fossil fuels. They we needed them for a while. They got us to where we are. We have better options now and it's time that we urgently implement them.

[00:17:30]>> You got it from Dr. Courtney Howard.

[00:17:32]Thank you very much for your time and thank you for bringing all those strands together for us. Extremely interesting stuff there.

[00:17:39]>> Well, thank you and I'm really sending best wishes and clear sky wishes to everybody across Canada, the US and Europe.

[00:17:47]>> Oh, yeah. Definitely hope for a breath of fresh air for you guys.

[00:17:52]>> Thank you.

[00:17:52]>> Thank you, Courtney.

[00:17:58]>> We also want to hear from you. Are you affected by bad air quality due to the fires? What are you doing to protect your health? I'm Ben Fazulan. Hope to see you again soon.