More than 800 wildfires are burning across Canada, with thick smoke now drifting south into the United States and triggering air quality alerts from the Upper Midwest to the northeast. In parts of Michigan and Minnesota, the air has been deemed “hazardous” by the US Air Quality Index, and residents have been urged to stay indoors.
The US National Weather Service (NOAA) issued alerts spanning the Great Lakes region and beyond on Thursday, as plumes from a large cluster of fires in northwestern Ontario pushed across Thunder Bay and Toronto before spreading over the Great Lakes. Detroit currently has the worst air quality in the world, according to Swiss tracker IQAir, followed by Minneapolis, Chicago and Toronto.
“More than 800 wildfires in Canada send hazardous smoke across US, affecting cities from Detroit to New York.”
In western New York state, air quality on Thursday is considered “very unhealthy”, while the New York City metro area is rated “unhealthy”. New York City has extended its heat emergency plans and activated air quality emergency protocols, with hundreds of cooling centers and KN95 masks available citywide.
The smoke has even raised concerns for Sunday’s World Cup final in New Jersey, as northwesterly winds are expected to continue steering smoke into northern US states through the weekend. A change in wind direction by Monday should improve air quality further south, but the smoke will then be directed across Quebec.
In Canada, 858 fires are actively burning, including 30 new ones on Thursday, the vast majority out of control. One fire in northern Ontario forced the evacuation of residents from local First Nations. One chief said her community has been “burnt to ashes”.
Thunderstorms are forecast for Ontario in the coming days, but the rain may not be enough to make a significant difference. The scale of the fire season, still only halfway through the summer, suggests more smoky days lie ahead for both countries.