Canada’s wildfire emergency intensified Thursday as more than 850 blazes burned across the country, destroying communities and forcing evacuations near Lake Superior in Ontario while extreme heat helped fuel the crisis. As crews battled the fires through the night, massive plumes of smoke drifted south into the United States, triggering hazardous air conditions across several major cities. Satellite imagery released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed a dense gray veil spreading across the eastern US on Wednesday afternoon, curling into a striking swirl over eastern Canada and parts of the Northeast. Powerful winds and high temperatures lifted the smoke into the atmosphere, where the jet stream carried it across Canada and the US. Wildfire smoke can be more dangerous than typical urban pollution and may linger for weeks, especially when fires burn vehicles and buildings, releasing chemicals, metals, plastics and synthetic materials into the air.
New Yorkers face orange haze and masks
New York City took on an eerie, dystopian glow Thursday as heavy smoke mixed with punishing heat and pushed air quality into “very unhealthy” territory. Images from the city showed commuters and basketball players moving through an orange haze, with some residents wearing N95 masks after officials warned that even people without respiratory conditions could face health risks. Detroit was also swallowed by smoke and ranked among the world’s worst major cities for air pollution, alongside Minneapolis and Chicago. At one point, Detroit recorded a US Air Quality Index reading of 566, making it the most polluted major city in the world at the time.
Unhealthy smoke blankets Midwest cities
Residents described the air as smelling like “a bonfire that you can’t escape,” with smoke reportedly creeping indoors. Minneapolis followed Detroit with an AQI of 289, while Chicago reached 259. AQI levels from 201 to 300 are considered “very unhealthy,” a category in which prolonged exposure can affect everyone, according to health officials. Winds from the Canadian fires swept smoke across the Great Lakes, and NOAA satellite images showed broad gray plumes hovering over Minnesota and Michigan. Michigan remained under a statewide air quality alert as smoke spread through the Upper Peninsula and continued pushing south toward the Indiana border.
Record smoke triggers Midwest air alerts
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said thick smoke had already driven hourly readings beyond previous Twin Cities records, with trace amounts of ash also reported. In northern Illinois, the state Environmental Protection Agency issued a red air pollution action day for Rockford and all six Chicago-area forecast zones. “It’s basically a river of smoke pouring into the Midwest right now,” Emily Fischer, an atmospheric chemist and professor at Colorado State University, told Reuters. Pennsylvania was also placed under a statewide Code Red alert Thursday, meaning conditions were unhealthy for everyone, as smoke from Ontario and Minnesota moved into the state from north to south.
Wildfires and heatwave overwhelm Canada
Satellite images from Tuesday showed towering clouds of hot, rising smoke looming over Canada and the Great Lakes as the fires continued to burn across large areas. Firefighters have been working extended hours to contain the flames and limit further damage. Randy Schroeder, a fire chief in Alberta, told the New York Times that the combination of wildfires and extreme heat has been “relentless.” He added: “The fires grow and last a lot longer than they would have normally done in the same fuel, in the same period of time, years ago.”
