Toxic wildfire smoke has engulfed much of the northern US, bringing with it an unsettling odor that many say smells more like burning plastic than a campfire.
Millions of Americans remain under air quality warnings as smoke from hundreds of Canadian wildfires blankets the Great Lakes, Upper Midwest and Northeast, pushing pollution levels into the EPA’s most severe ‘hazardous’ category across parts of the region.
Many people beneath the smoke plume have reported a burning plastic smell in the air, which atmospheric scientist Matthew Cappucci said is caused by longer-lasting compounds, including benzene and formaldehyde, that remain after the smoke has aged
To provide well-rounded coverage and a breadth of insight across various events, we rely on contributions from several staff writers, each bringing their own area of expertise to our publication.
