Wildfires in Western Canada and the United States are sending smoke across large portions of the country, severely impacting air quality and prompting health alerts for millions.
Due to smoke from Canadian wildfires, air quality alerts were in effect Wednesday for 11 states across the Midwest and Northeast. While concentrations have eased since Monday, the smoke remains a significant health concern, particularly for children, the elderly, and individuals with respiratory conditions.
Simultaneously, intense wildfires in the western U.S. have diminished air quality in several states. In Southern California, crews are battling the Gifford Fire, now the state’s largest of the year.
The conditions that fuel these blazes—dry air and strong winds—are becoming more frequent in both the U.S. and Canada as global temperatures rise due to fossil fuel pollution. Research also indicates that North America’s most extreme wildfires are increasing in intensity, heightening the risk of widespread smoke events.
As of Wednesday, Canada was reporting more than 500 out-of-control wildfires, with over 160 in Manitoba and nearly 130 in British Columbia. Smoke from these fires was pushed south over the weekend by a cold front, then trapped over the Plains and Northeast by a high-pressure system.
The resulting pollution was severe enough that on Monday, Detroit had the third-worst air quality of any major city worldwide. By Wednesday morning, Chicago ranked fourth and Detroit eighth, according to the global air quality tracking company IQAir.
Wildfire smoke contains hazardous fine particulate matter known as PM2.5. When inhaled, these tiny particles can travel deep into the lungs or enter the bloodstream, leading to breathing problems like bronchitis and aggravating conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.
While surface-level smoke in the Midwest and Northeast is expected to start clearing Wednesday, smoke in the upper atmosphere may linger for much of the week, causing hazy skies and vibrant sunsets. A new cold front is forecast to help clear the air over the weekend.
In the West, smoke from domestic fires is causing significant air quality issues. Blazes are active in 10 states, with some sending smoke hundreds of miles. California’s Gifford Fire has burned nearly 84,000 acres in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties and was only 9% contained as of Tuesday evening. The fire’s extreme behavior, at one point consuming an area the size of a football field every two seconds, has led to evacuation orders. Smoke from the blaze caused air quality in Las Vegas on Monday to reach its worst level since February 2023.
Other significant blazes include Arizona’s Dragon Bravo Fire, which has become one of the state’s largest in history, and Utah’s Monroe Canyon Fire, the state’s largest this year at over 63,000 acres. Both fires have generated their own weather systems, and their combined smoke has drifted into Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico.
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, the West is expected to remain a primary wildfire hotspot through at least September, suggesting that poor air quality from smoke will likely persist.
Source link
