Canadian Wildfire Smoke Covers One-Third of U.S., Triggers Air Quality Alerts
Smoke from more than 200 active wildfires in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta has slipped over the border and now veils roughly a third of the United States, forecasters say. The thickest plumes sit over New England, upstate New York and parts of the Midwest, where Minnesota’s Boundary Waters logged a “hazardous” AQI of 336 on Tuesday before easing overnight. Even so, New York City still woke to a murky sunrise and a moderate reading in the 50s, illustrating how quickly conditions can swing.
Health officials warn that the fine particles in wildfire smoke can lodge deep in lungs and seep into the bloodstream; infants, seniors and anyone with heart or lung issues are most at risk. Emory University’s Yang Liu likened the pollution to “toxic dust smaller than 1/40th of a human hair,” while the U.S. National Weather Service urged residents from the Dakotas to Georgia to limit strenuous outdoor activity when the haze settles near the surface.
Canada has already lost about two million hectares of forest this season, and officials expect worse as temperatures rise and winds pick up. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says “challenging days” lie ahead, with fresh evacuation orders possible in oil- and timber-rich communities. South of the border, meteorologists caution that shifting upper-level winds could send new waves of smoke into major U.S. cities through the weekend, making clean indoor air and updated forecasts essential gear for early summer.
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