Maria Virginia Sy

Air pollution concern as Canadian wildfire smoke spreads into US Midwest

Article (news)

Reuters Wires

Smoke from wildfires burning in three Canadian provinces is spreading into the U.S. Upper Midwest, stirring memories of the severe pollution that drifted south from Canada two years ago during that country&#x27;s worst fire season on record. The particulate matter pollution caused by the smoke is already blowing into Minnesota and neighboring states, posing a health risk to the tens of millions who live in the region. It is expected to make its way to New York and other East Coast cities in less severe levels over the coming days. Scores of wildfires have swept across Canada since the start of May, forcing thousands of evacuations and disrupting crude oil production in the country. There were more than 200 active fires as of Monday (June 2), 106 of which were out of control, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. So far, 1.9 million hectares (4.7 million acres) have burned, mostly in the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Still, the current crisis does not yet come close to rivaling 2023, when 17 million hectares burned. The air quality rating in New York is expected to rise to 77 in the early morning on Wednesday as a result of the fires, while readings in Philadelphia and Washington will also rise to 70 and to 68 in Boston, according to IQAir, a website that monitors air quality around the world. An air quality rating of below 50 is considered to be &quot;good,&quot; and readings between 100 and 300 are deemed &quot;unhealthy&quot; to &quot;very unhealthy,&quot; while higher than that is considered &quot;hazardous,&quot; according to the website. One of the worst spots for air quality on Tuesday (June 3) afternoon was Ely, Minnesota, near the Manitoba border. It registered a &quot;hazardous&quot; reading of 336. In Duluth, Minnesota, the rating stood at 164 on Tuesday afternoon, having dropped from 309, while in Flin Flon, Manitoba, about 800 miles (1,300 km) to the north and in one of the areas where the Canadian wildfires are concentrated, the AQI was at 202, down from 359 in the morning. (Production: Erica Dischino, Eva Weininger)

Smoke from wildfires burning in three Canadian provinces is spreading into the U.S. Upper Midwest, raising concern on its health risk to the tens of millions who live in the region.

Smoke from wildfires burning in three Canadian provinces is spreading into the U.S. Upper Midwest, raising concern on its health risk to the tens of millions who live in the region.

Air pollution concern as Canadian wildfire smoke spreads into US Midwest

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Air pollution concern as Canadian wildfire smoke spreads into US Midwest

Reuters

Published June 04, 2025 01:25 PM PHT

Read More:

Canada

wildfire

US Midwest

Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre

Alberta

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

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