This is part of our series Extreme Living: Climate Disruption Stories, where we share snapshots of family life in an age of extremes.
This morning when I woke up, a dark gray haze blanketed my neighborhood. It wasn’t unexpected. I live in Northern Virginia, and for two days, I had been listening to colleagues who live in New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Midwest tell how their families’ summer lives had been upended by dangerous air quality. Canadian wildfire smoke was back for the fourth year in a row, and it had finally arrived in the DC area.
The Air Quality Index where I live registered in the 300s, a.k.a. Code Maroon or hazardous for everyone. I’ve never seen pollution levels this high, and I’ve lived in this town my whole life. “This is an easy call to make,” read the email from my daughter’s swim league canceling practice this morning.
We considered going to (indoor) summer camp. We even drove all the way across town. But ultimately, we turned around and came home. Both my daughter and I had our doubts about the air filtration in the small single room above a pool office where this week’s camp is held. “It’s worse out here than I thought it would be,” she told me. “It’s like everyone is smoking this morning.” (What a quaint 1980s-era observation!)
Tell Congress: The Climate Clock Is Ticking. Act Now for Our Kids’ Future.
Read on for stories of how my Moms colleagues are also coping as this latest round of climate-supercharged wildfire smoke disrupts our lives and our health.
Maria Finnegan, New Hampshire
“This summer, between extreme heat and wildfire smoke drifting in from Canada, my five-year-old son has missed almost as many days of camp as he’s been able to attend. His camp wasn’t built for the climate we’re living in now. It doesn’t have air conditioning or enough indoor space to safely move children inside during dangerous heat or poor air quality events. My son is especially sensitive to heat and has already experienced heat illness. And when wildfire smoke suddenly blanketed our town, it wasn’t safe for him to be outdoors.
“The tiny particles in smoke can penetrate deep into children’s lungs, making it harder to breathe and increasing the risk of asthma attacks and other long-term health impacts. Staying home was our only safe option. My husband and I both work full-time, so every day that conditions become unsafe means scrambling to rearrange our jobs and care for our son. Parents shouldn’t have to choose between their paycheck and protecting their child’s health.”
Elizabeth Bechard, Vermont
“One of my twins lives with a complex neuroimmune illness that can cause inflammation in the brain and very difficult psychiatric symptoms. When there is wildfire smoke in the air, we are especially careful to limit their time outside—air pollution has been clearly linked to brain inflammation, and we don’t want to do anything that might make our child’s illness worse. Over the last few summers in Vermont, we’ve had to keep them home from camp for several days for this reason. It’s so painful to keep a child who desperately wants to run around and play indoors because it isn’t safe for them outside.”
Rachel Meyer, Pennsylvania
“Yesterday morning, I thought what a perfect clear day to hang out the laundry! Before I could get to the line, I noticed a wind blowing, and soon the air was hazy with smoke so thick I could not see the hills around us.
“By the time I picked up my daughter from camp, the air quality readings were already in the 400s. The air smelled like burnt wood mixed with chemicals. It made me cough. The camp director told me that the smoke was supposed to get worse and that camp was canceled for tomorrow. He fretted a bit about whether he made the right call. I assured him he did! This is too much for children’s little lungs and especially for those who already have asthma.”
Alexandra Zissu, New York
“I noticed the telltale eerie yet beautiful sunset Tuesday night and felt such dread. The summery fun vibe bubble was instantly popped. We shut all the open windows in preparation. One of my daughters, a pediatric cancer survivor, had lung radiation and is understandably terrified of wildfire smoke. By Wednesday morning it stank outside. A friend joked, Who put plastic cups on the campfire?
“Thursday at dinner my daughter asked if this is just how summers will be now—more and more days of orange haze per year? Will her future children never know the sun-filled clear days we all associate with the school-free season? I had just returned from New York City where I visited my aging father, safely indoors. The streets there were billowing with wildfire smoke, and we couldn’t even see the George Washington Bridge on the way home. It’s heartbreaking to know we could have stopped this if politicians had followed the science and not the oil and gas industry cash.”
Tell Congress: The Climate Clock Is Ticking. Act Now for Our Kids’ Future.