Canadian wildfires prompt air-quality alerts across five US states
Smoke from wildfires in Canada is spreading across multiple states in the US including the eastern seaboard, prompting multiple states to issue air-quality alerts.
The poor air quality stretching across the US came as a result of dozens of wildfires burning across Canada as the country's annual wildfire season roars into destructive action.
The fires, which have been sparked by both humans and natural causes, have prompted at least 25,000 residents in three Canadian provinces to evacuate in recent days.
On Wednesday afternoon, a map from the US Environmental Protection Agency's AirNow forecast showed large swaths of moderate to unhealthy air quality across the east, midwest and southern parts of the US, featuring smoke and dust.
Also on Wednesday, the New York state department of environmental conservation issued an air-quality advisory from 11am to 11pm for multiple counties including parts of New York City.
New York officials recommended that individuals consider limiting strenuous outdoor physical activity to reduce the risk of adverse health effects. Officials also said that people who may be especially sensitive to the effects of elevated levels of pollutants include the very young and those with pre-existing respiratory issues.
Similarly, New Jersey's department of environmental protection issued a code orange air-quality alert for the multiple parts of the state on Wednesday. A code orange air-quality alert means that air pollution concentrations within the region may become unhealthy for sensitive groups including children, elderly people, and people with asthma, heart and lung diseases.
Meanwhile, the Iowa department of natural resources issued a statewide air-quality alert on Tuesday that is set to last until Thursday. The department warned that intermittent thick smoke can be expected over the state.
In New Hampshire, officials declared an air-quality action day on Tuesday, and in Maine, the state's department of environmental protection issued an air-quality alert from 11am Wednesday to 11pm Thursday.
It said people can be active outdoors but symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing, throat irritation or an uncomfortable sensation in the chest should prompt them to limit their outdoor activities.
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Mobility expert says you should swap stretching for this exercise to ease tight hips
As a coach and fitness writer, having tight hips is one of the most common complaints I hear about. People usually default to stretching to sort this out, but a specialist says there are more effective ways to address the problem. Movement mechanics expert and Training Stimulus founder Ash Grossmann says regular movement and developing stability around the joint are likely to yield better long-term results for those seeking to banish tightness. 'In terms of broad, generalised advice, we want to establish what is causing the tightness,' Grossmann says. 'There are indirect reasons why a muscle could be becoming tight – the clue is if you stretch it and the tightness keeps coming back, stretching isn't solving the tightness. 'In a lot of situations, stretching can actually make it feel worse because you get into a wrestling match with your nervous system. Your nervous system generally has your best interests at heart with the tools it has available, so it thinks it's doing you a favour by tightening the muscle. Yanking on that tight muscle [via stretching] can be hurting your bigger picture goal rather than the small muscle tightness you're dealing with.' Below, Grossmann explains the possible causes of muscle tightness, and an accessible protocol for combatting this around the hips. Possible causes of muscle tightness Protection 'The first role of the nervous system, when it comes to movement, is survival and protection,' Grossman says. Muscle tightness might be your nervous system's way of preventing you from accessing a position it perceives as dangerous. For example, you might not be able to complete a full squat because your body 'doesn't feel strong, stable or in control' in the bottom position. Habit If we do anything consistently, the body will adapt to get better at it. Sitting at a desk all day with a flexed hip sends a strong message that this is a position to prioritise. As a result, the nervous system might tighten the hip flexor muscles (which raise the knee towards the chest) to do you a favour and save some energy. Regular, varied movement is the obvious remedy to this – think desk breaks, walking, side bends and rotations (like you'll find in this three-move ab workout). Instability Alternatively, Grossmann says the nervous system can use tightness in the hip flexors as a way of compensating for other muscle's shortcomings and creating stability in an otherwise unstable joint. 'If the body perceives a joint as loose or unstable, it will tighten the muscles it has to hand or that it's familiar with to try and create stability, even if they are not the ideal muscles to get the job done,' he explains. If this is the case, your first course of action should be to recruit and strengthen other key players such as the glutes, adductors and glute medius. You might do this through traditional strength training, or any number of other methods. As Grossmann says: 'Anything that gets length and load through the tissues [around the hip] will help.' The exercise below allows you to do just that, as well as work the hip through a wide range of motion, making it a top option for most people suffering from hip stiffness. The best exercise for fixing stiff hips: The Stimulus Six Lunges The body operates on a use it or lose it basis, as far as movement is concerned. To persuade it to regain range of motion around the hips and banish tightness, we need to build a solid business case for doing so, says Grossmann. 'The body is pretty rational, so unless you give it a compelling case to say, 'Actually, we need length through our hip flexors quite often and for reasonable amounts of time', it won't buy into it.' Doing the Stimulus Six Lunges daily is a good way to go about this. It involves lunging in six different directions, recruiting all the main musculature of the hip and moving in all three planes of motion; sagittal, meaning up, down, forward and backward; frontal, meaning side-to-side; and transverse, meaning rotational. Doing this acts like a mini movement assessment in itself, as you can work out your weaknesses by observing which lunges you struggle with. 'If you don't like doing a side lunge, maybe the adductors are super tight,' he explains. 'If you don't like doing a crossover lunge, maybe the lateral hip or the glute medius is really tight,' Grossmann says. 'By regularly training those movements, we're telling the body, 'We're going to be doing these movements, so you'd better get used to getting length in these muscles'.' Done daily, this will help the hips of your average desk job worker feel 'way, way better', he says. 'There's obviously a lot more nuance you could dig into on an individual basis, but their hips are going to be exposed to more positions and ranges of motion than even a lot of people who go to the gym all the time,' Grossmann explains. 'A lot of gym rats will just do squats and deadlifts, only moving up and down, but not moving sideways or rotating. If you do the Stimulus Six Lunges, you are maintaining your body's ability to access all the joint motions of the hip.' If you simply want to maintain your mobility, doing the sequence daily will help. If you're looking to improve your body's strength and performance in these positions for sport, you can progressively overload them by adding weight, upping the number of reps or increasing the range of motion accessed in each direction. 'If you can only do a side lunge to 90cm at first, gradually working towards a wider side lunge is another way to track and improve, beyond adding weight,' says Grossmann. 'Whether you need to do this all comes back to what your goals are. Do you need more mobility, or are you just trying to keep those hips feeling good and not lose access to those joint positions?' Ultimately the best thing you can do is listen to your body but if you're struggling with tightness, it could be worth asking yourself why the feeling keeps returning and look to Grossmann's advice for help. By taking a slightly different approach you might start to see changes and hopefully, improvements too.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
How di simple habit of removing your shoes wen you enta house fit contribute to your good health
My mother always get one rule: no shoes inside her house. E no mata who you be. Family member, neighbour or guest, you gatz comot your shoe bifor you enta house. Wen I dey small, I bin tink say na one of di many manners. But as I grow older (and wiser), I realise say no be obsession wit cleanliness. Na about health, safety and hygiene. Cleanliness dey often associated wit dirty wey eye fit see. But wen, if na shoes, wetin dey under di surface dey microscopic and dem dey far more dangerous dan mud or dry grass. Outdoor shoes dey carry bacteria, allergens, and toxic chemicals, e dey lead to serious health problems. Tink about wia your shoes go evri day: public restrooms, sidewalks, hospital hallways, and lawns wey dem don treat wit chemicals like herbicides and insecticides to control weeds and pests. According to one study by di University of Arizona in di United States, 96% of shoes test positive for coliform bacteria, wey dem dey commonly find inside poo poo. And even more worryingly, 27% contain "E. coli," one bacteria linked to various infections, some of dem dey potentially deadly. While some strains of E. coli dey harmless, odas dey produce Shiga toxins, wey fit cause bloody diarrhoea and lead to hemolytic uremic syndrome, one potentially deadly condition wey fit cause kidney failure. Children under five dey at risk due to dia developing immune systems and di fact say dem dey always put dia hands for dia mouths. But E. coli no be di only germ wey dey enta your living room. Shoes dey also collect clostridium, one bacteria wey pipo know to dey cause painful and sometimes severe diarrhea, and Staphylococcus aureus, including MRSA, one drug-resistant "superbug" wey fit cause deep skin infections, pneumonia, or even deadly bloodstream infections. No be only germs Di health risks go beyond bacteria. Shoe also dey act as carrier of chemicals and allergens. Studies don show say outdoor footwear fit contain pesticides, herbicides and heavy metals like lead, e dey pose serious health risks, especially for young children and pets. Exposure to lead, wey dem find inside dust or soil, dey harmful for children becos e fit affect dia brain development and cause lifelong cognitive problems. In addition, allergens such as pollen fit stick to di di soles, causing allergies and respiratory problems. Even more alarming, di asphalt sealants wey dem dey use on roads contain carcinogenic compounds. One U.S. study reveal say di dem fit find dis chemicals indoors and e go dey for in di indoor dust, sometimes at levels 37 times higher dan di one wey dem find outdoors. And e dey spend di most time for ground. Children and pets. Children crawl, play and dey often put dia hands to dia mouths. Pets dey lick dia paws afta dem walk on contaminated surfaces. Wearing outdoor shoes indoors fit increase dia exposure to harmful substances. Clean floors, healthy homes Based on my evidence, my mother rules no dey bad anymore. In fact, na one of di simplest and most effective public health measures you fit adopt for your house. Comot your shoes wen you enta, no be only dirt you dey prevent from staining di carpet, but you also significantly reduce your family exposure to germs and harmful chemicals. And e no dey difficult to do. Leave one space for shoes near di entrance. You fit also put shoe rack or basket, or even comfortable slippers for guests. To tell pipo to comot dia shoe before dem enta your house fit dey somehow at first, but e dey easy to forget say sometin as routine as to enta di house fit carry hidden risks. *Manal Mohammed na Professor of Medical Microbiology at di University of Westminster, UK. We publish dis article in The Conversation and reproduce am here under di Creative Commons license.
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Experts reveal side effects of having a second or third morning coffee
Experts advise against reaching for caffeine in the mid-morning, as it can raise cortisol levels, the body's main stress hormone, potentially heightening blood pressure or heart rate. Cardiologist Dr Marschall Runge warns that certain groups, such as people with anxiety, hypertension, or slow caffeine metabolism, are especially vulnerable to the negative cumulative effects of mid-morning caffeine consumption. Dr Roberto Corti's research indicates that the cardiovascular effects of coffee are not solely attributed to caffeine, as decaffeinated coffee displays similar effects. Dietitian Anthony DiMarino notes that elevated cortisol levels from excessive caffeine consumption can increase the risk of weight gain, diabetes, and heart problems. Moderate caffeine use (two to four cups of coffee daily) is generally safe and may even have benefits, but it's important to stay hydrated and avoid caffeine on an empty stomach to mitigate potential risks.
