As Hurricane Milton makes landfall, more than 1.6 million customers are left without power in Florida
The Category 2 storm has left 1.6 million homes and businesses without power in Florida as Milton pummels through the state.
A study out of Montreal's McGill University suggests wildfires may increase a person's risk of developing certain cancers.
The study, published last week in the journal , shows those living within 50 kilometres of wildfires over a 10-year period had a 4.9 per cent greater incidence of lung cancer and a 10 per cent higher incidence of brain tumours than those who lived further away.
The research used 20 years of data involving more than two million Canadians, and the study's authors said it is the first to look at how a person's proximity to forest fires may influence their risk of cancer.
"Many of the pollutants emitted by wildfires are known human carcinogens, suggesting that exposure could increase cancer risk in humans," Jill Korsiak, a PhD student who led the analysis, .
Since wildfires generally happen in similar regions each year, the researchers say those living in nearby communities may experience chronic exposure to carcinogenic pollutants.
Along with polluting aquatic environments and soil, chemicals such as heavy metals and certain hydrocarbons can remain in the environment for long periods, the researchers said.
They add that wildfires are being increasingly recognized as a global health problem and are expected to become more prevalent, severe and longer lasting due to climate change.
But the researchers stress that more work is needed.
"These findings are relevant on a global scale given the anticipated effects of climate change on wildfire frequency and severity," the authors wrote.
"However, in light of the study limitations, and because this is the first epidemiological study investigating associations between wildfires and cancer risk, we emphasise that a causal effect cannot be ascertained from this single study."
The study used the 1996 Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort, which tracked incidences of cancer and mortality between 1996 and 2015.
Participants who lived in major Canadian cities or with populations greater than 1.5 million people, recent immigrants and individuals younger than 25 or older than 90 were excluded from the study.
Exposed populations were less likely to live in a census metropolitan area and more likely to live in Western Canada than unexposed individuals.
The study looked for other potential links between wildfire exposure and certain blood cancers such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma and leukaemia but found no increased incidence.
The researchers also found no clear association between the amount of area burned in a wildfire and incidence of cancer.
They said this may be due to inaccurate estimates of the total area burned in wildfires and factors that could affect the concentration of pollutants in the environment such as vegetation type, fire characteristics and wind patterns.
The Category 2 storm has left 1.6 million homes and businesses without power in Florida as Milton pummels through the state.
A West Vancouver company has been ordered to repay a homebuyer's $1-million deposit after it failed to complete construction on the property in time.
During the campaign, BC Conservative Leader John Rustad has repeatedly said people are "dying on the streets" in the province 鈥 and on Tuesday he claimed to have witnessed that very thing in downtown Vancouver while he was on his way to the leaders' debate.
Sheriff's deputies in Washington's Kitsap County frequently get calls about animals -- loose livestock, problem dogs. But the 911 call they received recently from a woman being hounded by dozens of raccoons swarming her home near Poulsbo stood out.
Dozens of cars were pulled out of the Detroit River in west Windsor on Tuesday, causing many questions for Windsorites.
President Joe Biden warned on Wednesday that Hurricane Milton carried incredible destructiveness and urged people to take safe shelter while condemning misinformation about the storm as un-American.
Hundreds of thousands of vehicles are being recalled in Canada due to a steering-related issue that could increase a driver's risk of crash.
The leader of the Bloc Quebecois says his party 'might play a role' in helping the Liberals get House of Commons business rolling again 鈥 after days of Conservative-led debate on a privilege matter 鈥 but that his assistance would come at a cost.
A Turkish Airlines jetliner headed from Seattle to Istanbul made an emergency landing in New York on Wednesday after the captain died on board, an airline official said.
Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.
Saskatchewan鈥檚 Jessica Campbell has made hockey history, becoming the first ever female assistant coach in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Have you ever seen videos of hovercrafts online or on TV and thought, 'Wow, I wish I could ride one of those.' One Alberta man did, and then built his own.
A B.C. couple is getting desperate 鈥 and creative 鈥 in their search for their missing dog.
Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.
A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.
Bernie Hicks, known as the 鈥楤atman of Amherst,鈥 always wanted to sit in a Batmobile until a kind stranger made it happen.
Bubi鈥檚 Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.
Weeneebayko Area Health Authority and the Government of Ontario have awarded a $1.8 billion fixed-price contract to design, build and finance a new Far North hospital.