[Forest burning. Credit to Pixabay]

On Wednesday, June 7th, citizens from New York all the way to Minnesota woke up to a surprising sight: orange hazy skies. 

The smoke covering much of the Eastern U.S. came from wildfires in Canada that have exposed millions of Americans to dangerous levels of pollution.

The skies of the Eastern Shore were shrouded in a bizarre orange hue, blotting out the sun and reducing visibility.

Over the last few weeks, Canada has been facing horrendous wildfires, with hundreds of them burning across millions of acres of land and triggering mass evacuations.

Furthermore, harsh weather conditions are fueling these fast-spreading fires, making them extremely difficult to combat. 

The country is currently at "national preparedness level 5," meaning Canada has fully committed all its national resources to mobilize against the fires.

However, Wednesday was by far the nation’s worst day in recent history for wildfire smoke pollution.

Authorities have urged people to stay inside, filter the air they breathe, and avoid outdoor activities. 

More people have been exposed to higher levels of soot than any other day since 2006, according to an analysis by Stanford University.

Unfortunately, many Americans and Canadians can expect more smoky days like these in the future. 

Much like heat waves, “smoke waves” are expected to grow more frequent, long-lasting, and intense over the next few decades.

This is a new term coined by researchers to explain the growing numbers of people who will have to contend with unhealthy levels of smoke for years to come.

This type of pollution lodges deep in the lungs and can enter the bloodstream to worsen asthma, lung, and heart disease, and reduce life expectancy.

Although the Canadian wildfire season runs from May through October, the extent of the fires taking place so early in the season is rare.

One month into the season, Canada is already on track to have its most destructive wildfire season in history.

Warm and dry conditions are like kindling for wildfires and can lead to disastrous outcomes. 

Also, hotter weather breeds more lightning storms. 

A one-degree celsius increase in temperature can cause a 12% increase in the likelihood of lightning striking.

In most seasons, half of forest fires are caused by lightning, with these types of fires being  85% more destructive than other types.

The other fires  are caused by human activities, such as camping or barbecuing.

Much of Canada, like the rest of North America, has recently experienced record heat and drought as climate change continues warming the planet. 

“The fire season is also lasting longer now because of climate change. Spring is coming weeks earlier and fall is coming weeks later. More time for the fires and grasslands to burn,” Edward Struzik, a researcher at Queen's Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy at Queen's University in Canada and author of "Dark Days at Noon, The Future of Fire" told CBS News.

In 2021, Canada experienced its hottest day ever when Lytton, British Columbia hit 49.6 degrees Celsius, 121 degrees Fahrenheit, smashing the previous record of 113 degrees. 

It tied with California's Death Valley as the hottest place in North America that day. 

This is a blatant sign of an environmental health crisis, and again raises more awareness of the devastating effects of climate change.