2LT International News

WASHINGTON D.C.: Due to an ongoing heat wave and poor air quality caused by Canadian wildfires, the US National Weather Service urged half of Americans to take precautions when outdoors over the long Fourth of July weekend.

The service said that even before the July 4th holiday, some 80 million people in California, the Deep South and the lower Mississippi Valley would be under excessive heat warnings and heat advisories over the weekend.

In many parts of California and the two regions, heat indexes, which combine both temperature and humidity, have exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

People were urged to drink plenty of water and not participate in strenuous activities outdoors, especially in the middle of the day, forecasters said.

As a result of the Canadian wildfires, another 100 million Americans living north and across the Midwest and East faced another day of smoke and poor air quality alerts.

People living in affected areas, especially the young, elderly and those suffering from respiratory issues, were asked to limit strenuous outdoor activities, the weather service said.

IQAir.com, which tracks global air pollution, said currently New York and Washington had the second and third worst air quality of any major cities around the world.

After storms that hit last week, which knocked down power lines and trees, some people in eastern Illinois and western Indiana faced a hot and humid day of compromised air quality without electricity.

According to Poweroutage.us, which tracks outages across the US, some 280,000 homes and businesses were without last week.