Since the beginning of the month, more than five hundred fires have been burning across the provinces of Canada. This has resulted in an orange-brown haze being spread across eastern Canada as well as the midwest and north-east parts of the United States, and a stifling haze reaching major cities in the United States. According to IQAir.com, the cities of Toronto and New York hold the distinction of being the most polluting urban regions in Canada that have been impacted by wildfires.
As a result of the high level of particulate matter included in the smoke, the authorities in charge of public health have been handing out masks and encouraging people to stay indoors. It is reasonable to anticipate that other instances of frequently appallingly low air quality will occur in many parts of the United States as long as wildfires continue to rage through the remainder of the season and until cooler temperatures, rain, and winter arrive.
The annual monsoon that affects India has come six days earlier than forecasted, covering the entire nation; nonetheless, rainfall levels continue to be 10% below average. India is located on the other side of the world from Australia. The monsoon is essential to India’s economy because it supplies water for agriculture, restocks reservoirs and aquifers, and provides relief from the oppressive heat of the summer.
The India Meteorological Department forecasts that July will have normal rainfall, which is vital for summer crops and incomes in rural areas. The forecast comes despite decreased rainfall in June. Farmers, who rely largely on rain due to insufficient irrigation infrastructure, would profit from this opportune monsoon, which will assuage concerns about agricultural output and provide the farmers relief. In the years that are characterized by El Nio, India typically experiences lower-than-average levels of rainfall.
Recent days have seen increased gustiness in the United Kingdom as a result of a low pressure region that has been positioned to the north. This low pressure moved eastwards across Scandinavia over the course of the weekend, and with higher pressure across Europe, a powerful wind blowing in a westerly direction was generated across the Baltic Sea on Sunday, and it lasted through the night.
Warnings of damaging winds were issued for much of northern Germany and the coastal regions of the rest of north-eastern Europe. Wind gusts reached over to 60 miles per hour in certain exposed coastal areas, although more commonly, wind speeds ranged from 35 to 45 miles per hour. It appears that low pressure will continue to dominate in Scandinavia until the middle of this week, which will create the circumstances for some additional windy conditions.
