Smoke from hundreds of wildfires burning across Canada has spread across parts of the United States, triggering hazardous air quality alerts, forcing event cancellations and raising health concerns.
A thick blanket of smoke covered skylines from Toronto and Detroit to New York and across New England, with hazardous air quality warnings issued across large parts of the region.
Officials cancelled outdoor activities, including children’s summer camp events, closed beaches and advised residents to remain indoors because of the health risks posed by the smoke. A concert by rock band The Black Keys in Chicago was also postponed.
According to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System, 858 wildfires are currently burning across Canada, including 30 new fires reported on Thursday. Most of the fires remain out of control.
In northern Ontario, one wildfire forced residents of nearby First Nations communities to evacuate. One chief said her community had been “burnt to ashes”.
The fires in northwestern Ontario have sent thick smoke across Thunder Bay and Toronto, while lighter smoke higher in the atmosphere has drifted over the Great Lakes and into New York, leaving hazy skies.
Hazardous air quality alerts were issued in several US cities, including Chicago, Grand Rapids, Pittsburgh and Toledo.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul warned residents about the deteriorating conditions.
“We’re in a very serious health situation right now,” she said, adding that thick smoke was “blanketing” much of the state and making it “very unhealthy to be outdoors” in many areas.
“This is bad news for every New Yorker,” she said. “There will be great impacts.”
Air quality in western New York reached the “very unhealthy” category on Thursday, while conditions across the New York City metropolitan area were rated “unhealthy”. Many residents wore face masks as smoke obscured landmarks including the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty.
The city activated its air quality emergency protocols, extended its heat emergency plans and made hundreds of cooling centres and KN95 masks available.
Forecasters said thunderstorms expected across Ontario over the coming days were unlikely to bring enough rain to significantly slow the fires. Northwesterly winds are expected to continue pushing smoke into northern US states through the weekend, raising concerns that haze could reach New Jersey before Sunday’s World Cup final.
Air quality tracker IQAir ranked Detroit as the world’s most polluted major city on Thursday, followed by Minneapolis, Chicago and Toronto.
Four Republican lawmakers in Michigan wrote to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, calling for stronger wildfire management after smoke affected the state for a third consecutive year.
“A year has passed, the season has come around again, and nothing has changed except that our patience has run out,” the lawmakers wrote.
US Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra praised wildfire fighting efforts by both countries in a statement on Wednesday.
Laura Chasmer, a professor of geography and the environment at the University of Western Ontario, said wildfires have become more frequent since 2015 because of climate change.
“This is associated with some of the extreme climate warming that we’ve been seeing, and the atmospheric drying of the surface,” she said.
Chasmer said major fires have increasingly shifted east into Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada, causing smoke to affect densely populated cities such as Toronto and New York. She added that Canada’s firefighting efforts are focused on preventing fires from reaching communities because extinguishing them completely is “very difficult” due to their size and intensity.
Responding to criticism from US lawmakers, Carney said Canada and the United States both have a responsibility to tackle climate change. He added that his government is “in close communication” with provinces and local communities.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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