Republicans threaten Canada with sanctions over drifting wildfire smoke | Republicans

US Republicans are threatening Canada and Canadian government officials with sanctions after smoke from devastating wildfires spread across large swathes of the US, creating hazy conditions and hazardous air quality for tens of millions of Americans.

Donald Trump on Friday blamed his country’s northern neighbor for the smoke billowing from wildfires and said he planned to call Canadian prime minister Mark Carney to ask about Ottawa’s plans to deal with the blazes.

In a post on Truth Social, the US president said the US was being “invaded” by polluted air. “[The] “The cost of this pollution must necessarily be added to the tariffs Canada currently pays,” he wrote.

This came a day after Ohio GOP senator Bernie Moreno. in question he would introduce a bill next week that would “impose sanctions on Canada and the Canadian government officials responsible for this atrocity.” One expression He said the Canadian government has “failed to invest in wildfire prevention methods, including forest thinning, fuel reduction, prescribed burns and stronger enforcement against arson.” Ohio shares a maritime border with the Canadian province of Ontario.

The four Republican members of the House who represent Michigan, another state on the northern border, also wrote To tell Carney: “If Canada does not manage its forests to prevent these fires, the United States will look elsewhere and act on its own to protect our people.”

Asked about America’s accusations, Carney told reporters on Thursday: “Fighting climate change is the responsibility of all countries, including the United States.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Friday that the United States could offer more assistance to fight fires, as Canada has done with its neighbor in the past. “Maybe instead of complaining, what you should do is send support, send help,” Ford said. “Because we did the same thing for our American friends, and that’s what you should do, too.”

Fires continue across the United States, according to the National Interagency Fire Center’s assessment an above average year. So far this year, more than one 5,740 square miles 30 percent of the United States has been burned by wildfires; This is 31% more than the average of the previous 10 years to date. The amount of U.S. land burned each year in the 2020s (the decade average) is now more than double what it was 30 years ago.

More than 63,000 acres burned in northern Minnesota, while wildfires in Oregon, Washington and Idaho reportedly contributed to the smoke that Canadians also had to deal with; Smoke from US wildfires is drifting north and affecting air quality.

Canada’s largest fire, near Ontario’s remote Wabakimi provincial park, has reportedly spread across 787,802 acres (318,812 hectares). It is among 191 out-of-control and major fires burning as of Friday morning.

Thousands of people across the province were evacuated, while at least one First Nations community was destroyed by fires. On Wednesday, Toronto, in the midst of yet another record-breaking heat wave, had the worst air quality in the world.

It is estimated that approximately 6 million acres burned; That’s less than a quarter of the area consumed by wildfires in Canada when wildfire smoke last blanketed the U.S. in 2023.

The planet’s warming climate resulting from human activities is causing hotter, drier conditions in the summer months, which is increasing wildfire activity, making extreme wildfires more intense, frequent and larger. There is also a tendency for the bushfire season to become longer and longer, which is part of the natural cycle.

The United States is by far the world’s largest oil and gas producing country and has historically emitted more greenhouse gases than any other country, making it a key driver of the climate crisis.

And over the past year and a half, Trump has taken a sledgehammer to U.S. climate policy, propping up the domestic fossil fuel industry while aggressively rolling back environmental protections and regulations to expand oil and gas exploration and revitalize the coal industry. He has also targeted renewable energy industries, blocking millions of dollars in funding for clean energy projects and taking aim at state laws addressing pollution.

The actions come after the administration suppressed climate research and dismantled key institutions through mass layoffs of federal employees in fields such as climate and conservation studies, weather forecasting and wildlife monitoring.

In another case, the administration It was decided to close several government laboratories The research, which examines how wildfires affect human health, air quality, wildlife habitat and forest ecosystems, and which some scientists warned in May could disrupt efforts to protect people and the environment from wildfires this summer.

As of Friday, approximately 109 million people continued to be affected by poor air quality in the U.S. midwest, mid-Atlantic and northeast regions.

Heavy smoke from the wildfire blanketed cities like Chicago and Detroit, according to the government website; Residents were warned to stay indoors and reduce activity levels in these cities after the air quality index reached a “dangerous” 361 on Friday. AirNow.

The smoke also spread into Baltimore and Washington, D.C. overnight, creating very unhealthy air quality with index values ​​of 281 and 247, respectively, as of 6 a.m. Eastern time. Air quality in New York City was at an “unhealthy” level of 184 early Friday, as smog has blanketed the city since Tuesday. It later rose to 124, which was considered “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups”.

Around 260 “very unhealthy” readings were recorded in Philadelphia and Cleveland. Other parts of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin also recorded readings in the “dangerous” range.

Organizers of the World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, will be watching smoke patterns carefully: the smoke currently in the middle of the Atlantic is expected to erupt again towards the northeast.

The smoke from the fire kills tens of thousands of people every yearIt attacks nearly every system in the human body.