“It looks like the end of days out there,” quipped one of my neighbours as she entered the elevator wearing an N95 mask this morning. “I wonder how long it’ll last?”
Meteorologists reckon it could be a while, particularly if the wind doesn’t change - and even if does, the smoke will simply blanket another part of the country.
A Man talks on his phone as he looks through the haze at the George Washington Bridge from Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Credit: AP
After all, as authorities warned on Monday, Canada is on track for its worst-ever year of wildfire destruction, with warm and dry conditions expected to persist through to the end of the northern summer.
“If this rate continues, we could hit record levels for area burned this year,” said Michael Norton, a spokesperson for Canada’s natural resources ministry.
Fortunately, the hazy skies have so far done little to dampen what is otherwise a fairly bright time in Washington, which is currently in the midst of Pride Month.
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This month is essentially a four-week celebration of the LGBTQ community and the 1969 Stonewall uprising that paved the way for the gay rights movement in America.
But while Pride parties, parades and picnics are taking place all over the US, there’s something particularly joyous about being in DC - a progressive city with the nation’s highest LGBTQ population per capita - to mark the occasion.
Last night, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi threw the first pitch at the annual Pride Night Out - the longest running Major League Baseball LGBTQ event in the country. (Sadly, the home team, Washington Nationals, lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks).
This weekend is the much-loved Capital Pride Parade, led by Mayor Muriel Bowser and the DC government, followed by the annual Pride Festival along Pennsylvania Avenue.
But it was Australia’s very own former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd who kicked things off in style last Thursday, hosting his first Pride shindig as a new ambassador to the US.
Guests at Rudd’s northwest residence included members of the Biden administration, community leaders, diplomats and selected media, who were treated to a Kylie-themed performance by DC drag queen Crystal Edge, with Australian DJ Kitty Glitter, an icon in Sydney’s gay club scene, behind the decks.
“Welcome to an average afternoon at the Australian embassy,” Rudd joked.
It was a memorable event, particularly at a time when America is so divided over trans rights and state legislatures have introduced hundreds of laws targeting the LGBTQ+ community, from restricting drag performances to banning gender-affirming care for people under the age of 18.
Just as Stonewall marked a pivotal moment for LGBTQ civil rights in the US, the country now faces another inflection point. And with an election less than 18 months away, it is likely to become even more divided.
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