Flights grounded as Canada wildfire smoke chokes airports
We’ve just arrived in Baltimore, Maryland. Coming into the city, the whole skyline was washed out in gray smoke.
I’m from East Tennessee, and the sight reminded me of the bluish-gray haze that gives the Great Smokey Mountains their name. The current air quality here is 190. According to researchers at Stanford, an AQI of that level is equivalent to smoking almost 10 cigarettes a day.
Chelsea Bailey and I will be bringing you updates from the city throughout the day, so stay tuned.
Cities in North America have the worst air quality in the world today.
Here's where things stand as of 11:15 ET (16:15 BST) on the US Enviornmental Protection Agency's Air Quality Index (AQI).
- Washington DC - 293
- Philadelphia - 270
- New York City - 199
- Balitmore - 190
The city of Harrisburg in Pennsylvania is currently at 380 on the AQI.
In comparison, here are some of the worst cities on the AQI outside of North America.
- Lahore - 161
- Dhaka - 154
- Hanoi - 152
- Abu Dhabi - 121
In Canada, Toronto has an AQI of 75. But there are areas with very high levels, such as Janvier in Alberta, which currently has an AQI of 338
A reminder that anything between 201-300 on the AQI scale is deemed "very unhealthy" and above 301 is "hazardous".
- The Canadian government says nearly 100 million people in the US and Canada are currently experiencing very poor air quality
- More than 400 fires are burning across Canada and 236 are out of control
- Hundreds of firefighters from the US, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have been deployed to Canada, and more are on the way
Russian defense minister calls for expedition of military hardware to Ukraine
From CNN's Katharina Krebs in London
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has called for the expedited delivery of military hardware to the front lines in Ukraine, in a video posted on Thursday by the ministry's press service.
"The enemy tried to advance today. In two hours of the first battle alone, Russian troops destroyed 30 tanks and 10 IFVs. In two hours of combat, since morning. So this equipment is needed, let's hurry up," Shoigu said in reference to his earlier claim that Russian forces have repelled four overnight attacks in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region. CNN cannot independently verify these claims.
Shoigu made the request during a visit to troops of the Western Military District of Russia, where he inspected the preparation of equipment and weapons for shipment at the arsenals and storage bases, according to the statement posted by the ministry.
Army of fake social media accounts defend UAE presidency of climate summit
Sultan Al Jaber – Cop28 president and CEO of state oil firm – is ‘ally the climate movement needs’, posts say
An army of fake social media accounts on Twitter and the blogging site Medium have been promoting and defending the controversial hosting of a UN climate summit by the United Arab Emirates.
The president of the Cop28 climate talks is Sultan Al Jaber, who is also the chief executive of the state oil giant Adnoc, which has major net zero-busting expansion plans.
Posts from fake accounts claimed: “The UAE’s commitment to being the perfect host for Cop28 is a testament to its leadership in tackling climate change,” and that Al Jaber is “the ally the climate movement needs”. Others retweeted or reposted UAE government tweets or sought to rebut criticism. One account had an AI-generated profile picture, but text labelling the image as fake had not been cropped out.
'Nation in shock' after playground attack, says French PM
A Syrian refugee armed with a knife stabbed four preschool children and injured two adults by a lake in the French Alps on Thursday in an attack whose motive remains unclear.
El Nino climate pattern returns, extreme conditions feared
US scientists have warned that El Nino could bring extreme weather and temperature records. The last warming effects of El Nino had last occurred from 2018 to 2019.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced on Thursday that the so-called El Nino phenomenon has arrived.
"Depending on its strength, El Nino can cause a range of impacts, such as increasing the risk of heavy rainfall and droughts in certain locations around the world," the NOAA quoted as saying Michelle L'Heureux, climate scientist at the Climate Prediction Center.
"Climate change can exacerbate or mitigate certain impacts related to El Nino. For example, El Nino could lead to new records for temperatures, particularly in areas that already experience above-average temperatures during El Nino."
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