Air quality alerts issued across the US as Canadian wildfire smoke returns

Canadian wildfire smoke has returned to parts of the United States this week.

Air quality alerts were issued for the northern High Plains, the Midwest, Great Lakes, central Tennessee, North Carolina and the Northeast through Tuesday as northwesterly winds pushed smoke down from fires raging across Canada.

Smoke concentrations will recede over central parts of the US on Tuesday but may still cause poor air quality along the East Coast, the National Weather Service (NWS) reported.

The higher concentrations of smoke will result in unhealthy air quality for sensitive groups cause by high levels of particulate matter PM2.5.

States including Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin advised residents to check the Air Quality Index (AQI) before taking part in outdoor activities, particulary those in vulnerable groups like young children, elderly people or those with underlying health conditions.

Public health officials have recommended steps including wearing a mask, staying indoors and keeping indoor air free of additonal air pollution from candles, fireplaces and vacuums.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced air quality health advisories for the entire state on Monday. The AQI is forecast to be 100 to 150, instead of the normal range from 0-50.

Masks were being distributed at transport hubs in the state including Port Authority bus terminal in Manhattan.

The governor discussed air quality at a press conference on Sunday to address the catastrophic flooding that has impacted New York along with other parts of the Northeast in the past two weeks.

“As if the rain coming out of the sky isn’t enough, if you start looking up tomorrow you’re going to see a similar situation to what we had a couple of weeks ago because of the air quality degradation resulting from the wildfires in Canada,” she said.

“We’re likely to be issuing a air quality alert for portions of our state. It seems to be projected to be mostly around western New York and the North Country at this time. But as we saw, it can shift very quickly and start developing in more populated areas.”

Canada has been battling record-breaking numbers of wildfires for months with many raging out of control.

As of Monday, there were 887 wildfires across territories and provinces including 23 which erupted on Sunday, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

The climate crisis, caused by burning fossil fuels, is driving larger, more frequent and erratic wildfires around the world.

Two firefighters died while fighting blazes in Canada in recent days.

One male firefighter from Fort Liard in Canada’s Northwest Territories died from an injury sustained while tackling a blaze near his community, authorities said on Sunday.

Devyn Gale, a 19-year-old female firefighter, was killed by a falling tree near Revelstoke, British Columbia while battling blazes.