{"id":9211,"date":"2026-07-18T03:49:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T22:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=9211"},"modified":"2026-07-18T03:49:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T22:49:26","slug":"trump-says-us-being-invaded-by-filthy-air-as-he-threatens-canada-with-tariffs-over-wildfires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=9211","title":{"rendered":"Trump says US being &#8216;invaded by filthy air&#8217; as he threatens Canada with tariffs over wildfires"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"asset:7a9dfc6d-3e1b-48bf-87ea-be2298de575b\">\n<header class=\"ssrcss-1gu7x8n-Header e14e9ror5\"><span class=\"ssrcss-1de7kuz-HeadingContainer e14e9ror1\"><\/p>\n<h3 type=\"normal\" class=\"ssrcss-89o2pv-Heading e10rt3ze0\"><span role=\"text\" class=\"ssrcss-189b1h2-HeadlineWrap e14e9ror2\"><span>It&#8217;s &#8220;Code Purple&#8221; for Washington, DC &#8211; what does that mean?<\/span><span class=\"ssrcss-etauer-ServerSideTime e14e9ror0\"><span data-testid=\"timestamp\" class=\"ssrcss-19b8cwc-Timestamp ekpio9q4\"><span data-testid=\"accessible-timestamp\" class=\"visually-hidden ssrcss-i2z2ig-VisuallyHidden e16en2lz0\">published at 22:04 BST<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"ssrcss-crgz56-Time ekpio9q2\">22:04 BST<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><\/span><\/header>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1l98ssq-Contributor etflsgg2\"><span><strong>Rebecka Pieder<\/strong><br \/>Reporting from Washington DC<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">This is &#8220;probably one of the worst smoke pollution episodes on record for the area,&#8221; Washington DC meteorologist Jason Samenow tells the BBC.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;We&#8217;re under a Code Purple air quality alert,&#8221; says Samenow, &#8220;which is, you know, signifying very unhealthy air.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Meteorologists seemingly follow the rainbow in rating air quality. Just one step beyond purple (&#8220;very unhealthy&#8221;) is the highest level, maroon, signifying &#8220;hazardous&#8221;. On the other end, green is good. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;The more pollutants in the air, the worse the air quality,&#8221; Samenow, whose weather reports are followed closely by many throughout the region, says. &#8220;It&#8217;s just based on the concentration of pollution&#8221; in the atmosphere.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The level of smoke and pollution shrouding the US capital area is due to the proximity and intensity of wildfires burning in Ontario.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">And Code Purple &#8220;means that pretty much anybody who goes outside is going to feel it and should take precautions&#8221;, he says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">For this reporter, stepping outdoors in Washington for even a few moments today brought on itchy eyes and a dry throat, and made me feel lightheaded.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">But relief is on its way for Washington DC. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;There&#8217;s a big cold front coming in tomorrow, and that&#8217;s going to help push a lot of the smoke away,&#8221; Samenow says. &#8220;I think we&#8217;re going to see improving air quality by late Saturday and into Sunday.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"ssrcss-hc6arm-StyledFigure e34k3c22\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21\"><span class=\"ssrcss-17zkhwg-Placeholder etlorgc0\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Headshot of a smiling man in a light-coloured shirt with his arms crossed in front of him\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/640\/cpsprodpb\/vivo\/live\/images\/2026\/7\/17\/24b99d28-38c9-4cf4-aa48-d6be113b7432.jpg.webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/240\/cpsprodpb\/vivo\/live\/images\/2026\/7\/17\/24b99d28-38c9-4cf4-aa48-d6be113b7432.jpg.webp 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/320\/cpsprodpb\/vivo\/live\/images\/2026\/7\/17\/24b99d28-38c9-4cf4-aa48-d6be113b7432.jpg.webp 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/480\/cpsprodpb\/vivo\/live\/images\/2026\/7\/17\/24b99d28-38c9-4cf4-aa48-d6be113b7432.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/624\/cpsprodpb\/vivo\/live\/images\/2026\/7\/17\/24b99d28-38c9-4cf4-aa48-d6be113b7432.jpg.webp 624w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/800\/cpsprodpb\/vivo\/live\/images\/2026\/7\/17\/24b99d28-38c9-4cf4-aa48-d6be113b7432.jpg.webp 800w\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" class=\"ssrcss-egie1y-Image edrdn950\"\/><\/span><span role=\"text\" class=\"ssrcss-tzgxt7-StyledFigureCopyright e34k3c20\"><span class=\"visually-hidden ssrcss-i2z2ig-VisuallyHidden e16en2lz0\">Image source, <\/span>Getty Images<\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"ssrcss-gw6qi7-StyledFigureCaption e1xtk7to0\"><span class=\"visually-hidden ssrcss-i2z2ig-VisuallyHidden e16en2lz0\">Image caption, <\/span><\/p>\n<div spacing=\"6\" class=\"ssrcss-15twdc6-Stack e1y4nx260\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Jason Samenow is a meteorologist in the Washington DC area<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s &#8220;Code Purple&#8221; for Washington, DC &#8211; what does that mean?published at 22:04 BST 22:04 BST Rebecka PiederReporting from Washington DC This is &#8220;probably one of the worst smoke pollution episodes on record for the area,&#8221; Washington DC meteorologist Jason Samenow tells the BBC. &#8220;We&#8217;re under a Code Purple air quality alert,&#8221; says Samenow, &#8220;which&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/branded_news\/1200\/cpsprodpb\/df58\/live\/7b0bba10-821b-11f1-b966-41edf3b346b4.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-trending-viral-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9211\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}