Smoke from the wildfires ravaging much of the US West Coast has spread to the east of the country, casting a haze over New York and Washington DC. The blazes have burned vast areas of land and killed at least 36 people since early August. They have also caused some of the most unhealthy air on the planet in several western states.

Scientists said the smoke on the East Coast was so high that it would not impact air quality. Satellite images showed the smoke being carried to the East Coast by the jet stream – a narrow zone of high-speed winds – across the Mid-Atlantic. The National Weather Service (NWS) in New York said smoke passing over the state was 25,000ft (7,620m) high on Tuesday. “If you looked up to the sky today, you may have seen a yellow or brown tinge. You were seeing smoke from the fires”, the NWS said on Twitter.(BBC)…[+]