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Canadian wildfires send smoke into Great Lakes and Northeast

natureJul 15, 20262056,683

Massive plumes from more than 3,000 Canadian wildfires that have burned nearly 4.5 million acres this summer are moving south into the United States, bringing dangerous smoke and unhealthy air to more than 100 million people across the Midwest and Northeast. Thicker smoke from Canadian blazes is forecast to sink to the surface Wednesday and Thursday, producing unhealthy air quality from the Upper Midwest into New England and affecting cities including New York, Washington, DC and Boston. Much of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin are already under air quality alerts, and the National Weather Service warned smoke could become a concern in Chicago later this week. Wildfire smoke contains fine PM2.5 particles that can travel deep into lungs or enter the bloodstream and aggravate conditions such as bronchitis, heart disease and diabetes; people with lung or heart disease, children and older adults face the greatest risk. The current smoke surge is tied to a record-breaking heat dome whose northern edge sits over northern Minnesota and southern Ontario, steering smoke east and south into the Great Lakes and Northeast. The smoke may also reduce incoming sunlight and temporarily blunt some of the region’s heat, but several months remain in wildfire season leaving the door open for additional smoke events.

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani
@mayor.nyc.gov

Air quality has reached unhealthy levels in parts of NYC due to smoke from Canadian wildfires. Poor air quality affects everyone, but some people are more sensitive to it than others, including people with heart or lung conditions, older adults, pregnant New Yorkers, and infants and children.

12972h ago
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