EDITOR’S NOTE: The Columbia Paper is counting down the top 5 local stories of 2023. We looked at the top stories of the year, those that drew the highest number of readers to our website and Facebook page, or that had the greatest impact on our community and its residents. Here is the Number 4 story for the year.
Canadian fires trigger ‘butterfly effect’ here
By DEBORAH E. LANS
GHENT—This was bad. Even farm animals were affected by the smoke. Kirk Kneller, who has cattle and chickens on his farm, reported that—confused by the dusky skies—the cows slept in late (8 a.m. for them) and the chickens laid fewer eggs, as the absence of full light threw their circadian rhythms off.
The more than 400 fires that have consumed more than 800 million acres of forests in Canada this spring are similarly reminding us of how interconnected our world is. Smoke from the fires shrouded New York State, dangerously affecting our air quality, last week, and the smoky conditions are expected to return intermittently throughout the summer.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency monitors air quality throughout the nation. It rates the conditions numerically and on a color scale, available in “real time” on its website AirNow.com.
On Wednesday, June 7, Columbia County’s towns began the day in the orange zone and later hit red with a score of 163 (deemed “unhealthy”)—a reflection of the amount of the pollutant known as PM 2.5 in the air. The usual air quality color is green and the index figure is around 50.
The next day, June 8, the scale edged up briefly to 200 (code purple), before wind and rain lowered it slightly.
By June 9, the index was back to the 50s, where it remained through the weekend, occasionally bumping up to the low 60s (yellow).
PM 2.5 is a reference to fine particles in the air that are 2.5 microns or less in width. To quote the EPA, a micron is so small that “several thousand could fit on the period at the end of this sentence.”
This pollutant causes irritation of eyes, nose and throat even for the healthy and at higher levels poses particular risk to those who have asthma, other respiratory conditions or cardiac disease.
At code orange, those more vulnerable are advised to take precautions. At code red or purple, even the healthy are warned to stay indoors and avoid strenuous activity.
At Columbia Memorial Health, Dr. Michael Weisberg, who runs the Emergency Department, said that the hospital saw a slight increase in volumes at the height of the smoke infiltration. He recommends that those at high risk stay inside when the air quality is poor and run their air conditioning. However, those with single stand-alone unit vented through a tube to the outside should not run those units, as they may draw outside air to the inside.
Dr. Weisberg also suggests that, when driving, the use of the recirculating mode of air conditioning intake is preferred, as it reduces the intake of outside air.
For those who must be outside, wearing a K95 mask will filter out most of the particulates. Other masks, while helpful, are less effective at filtering out the particles.
On Wednesday, June 7, at the Chatham Central School District, Superintendent Sal DeAngelo asked all of the buildings to bring their physical education classes indoors and halted after-school activities that would involve strenuous activity. Superintendent Benjamin Bragg of the Germantown Central School District likewise canceled all outdoor activities, including some planned field trips, to ensure student safety.
Canadian sources stated that the fires were a clear sign of climate change. The country experienced record-breaking heat in May, and, as a result, Canada is on track to experience its worst wildfire season ever. Mohammadreza Alizadeh, a professor at McGill University in Montreal, was quoted by The Guardian as explaining that the dry spring conditions combined with hot air made it easier for fires to spark. Lightning, which strikes more frequently in hot weather, increases the odds of blazes igniting.
Chris Gitro, chief meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Albany, warns that we are likely to see a recurrence of smoke from the Canadian fires during the summer, as they are likely to continue to burn.
Canada is not alone in experiencing dangerous conditions. Much of New York state is currently designated as at a moderate risk of fires due to the dry period we have experienced.
The state DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) has reported that annual statewide temperatures, those in Columbia County included, have increased by 3°F since 1970, and the state is vulnerable to more weather extremes, like heat waves, as well.
Last week, wildfires were burning in six upstate counties, including Rensselaer, Saratoga and Warren, according to the DEC, exacerbated by the abnormally dry conditions the area is experiencing. Too often those fires are started by careless campers and outside brush burners—a situation that, unlike lightning, can be avoided.
The EPA’s Airnow.gov website provides up-to-date information as to current conditions, air quality forecasts and recommendations as to responses to accommodate air quality issues. The National Weather Service’s weather.gov website issues alerts when air quality is poor.
The federal government’s Drought.gov website monitors and maps local drought conditions, tracking temperature and rain daily.
There is a Chinese proverb that says: “The flapping of the wings of a butterfly can be felt on the other side of the world.”
