In regions experiencing wildfire smoke, outdoor workers face a dilemma: making a paycheck or staying away from hazardous air. "From dog walkers to delivery drivers, from landscapers to farm laborers, many workers whose jobs require time in the outdoors have plowed on this week, even as smoke from wildfires raging in Canada has created abysmal air quality up and down the East Coast," write Pranshu Verma, Hamza Shaban, Brady Dennis, Jaclyn Peise and Aaron Gregg of The Washington Post. "Their predicament reveals how outdoor laborers, more than any other segment of the workforce, remain vulnerable when it comes to climate change."

Some businesses were able to help their employees take precautions or delay outdoor work until air quality improved. "A restaurant owner in Philadelphia shut down outdoor dining at some locations to keep staff out of harm's way. The city of Allentown, Pa., sent parks and recreation workers home," the Post writes. "Amtrak was among numerous companies that made masks available to workers that wanted them, and said it would delay 'noncritical' work in areas deemed hazardous."

Read the full article about outdoor workers and wildfire smoke by Heather Close at The Rural Blog.