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Smoke spreads south
Hundreds of Canada wildfires pushed smoke into the United States, with air quality alerts extending south into multiple US states as the air in large parts of Michigan and Minnesota was deemed "hazardous" by the US Air Quality Index program.
“The smoke from wildfires raging in remote areas of the Canadian province of Ontario is spreading on Thursday toward the northeastern United States and New York, exposing millions of people to air quality that is severely degraded”
The BBC said there were currently 858 fires actively burning in Canada, including 30 new fires on Thursday, and that the vast majority were burning out of control.
The BBC reported that thick plumes of smoke and poor air quality were being driven by a large cluster of fires affecting northwestern areas of Ontario, with lower concentrations drifting over the Great Lakes and above New York.
In Chicago, the Chicago Tribune reported that Cook County’s PM2.5 concentrations by late afternoon had reached an index above 900 on a scale that tops out at 500, according to AirNow.
The Chicago Tribune also said PM2.5 in Chicago registered at 470, as the smoke enveloped northern Illinois on Thursday.
Warnings, numbers, and quotes
In New York City, the Guardian reported that local officials urged residents to limit their outdoor time and cautioned elderly people, pregnant women and people with other risk factors, such as heart and lung disease.
The Guardian quoted New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani saying, "At ‘unhealthy’ levels, everyone – not just people with asthma or heart conditions".
The BBC said the air quality in the New York City metro area was "unhealthy" and that New York had extended its heat emergency plans and activated its air quality emergency protocols, with hundreds of cooling centers and KN95 masks being made available citywide.
In Michigan, the FOX Weather report said Detroit ranked in first place across the whole world, and it stated that as of 10 a.m. central on Thursday, Detroit reportedly had an air quality of 724.
The FOX Weather report also said Minneapolis took second place with an air quality index of 289 as of 11 a.m. central time, while Chicago ranked third with a very unhealthy air quality of 250.
What’s at stake next
The BBC reported that northwesterly winds would continue to blow smoke into northern US states for the rest of this week and into the weekend, and it said there were concerns smoke would drift into New Jersey where Sunday's World Cup final is due to take place.
“Midi Zuid Brussels Around the Globe Smoke from wildfires burning in Ontario have caused air quality to reach "dangerous" levels across Canada, and the northeastern and midwestern United States”
The BBC added that a change in the wind direction by Monday means the smoke will tend to be steered across Quebec with an improvement in air quality further south in the US.
The Guardian said air quality alerts had been issued for parts of North Carolina, Minnesota, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Delaware, West Virginia, Colorado, Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC, Michigan and Wisconsin.
In Chicago, the Chicago Tribune reported that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency extended an air quality alert through Friday night, and it said conditions are expected to improve "sometime during the day" Friday, though a breeze from Lake Michigan could worsen some areas Friday.
The Chicago Tribune also quoted meteorologist Ricky Castro of the National Weather Service saying conditions are expected to improve "sometime during the day" Friday, while it described PM2.5 as the main driver behind Thursday’s elevated air quality.
