US cities are again experiencing air quality issues this week as wildfires continue to burn in Canada and smoke drifts south. That smoke includes contaminants, which can exacerbate respiratory conditions and make breathing generally difficult, and it could well spread for weeks to come.
Typically, Canada’s wildfire season runs through the spring and summer, so there’s some expectation of blazes taking place around this time. Because Canada has experienced an exceptionally hot and dry spell this year, however, it’s seeing the most destructive fire season in decades, resulting in a record amount of acreage burned and smoke emissions released.
Here are answers to five questions about the impact the wildfires have had, how lawmakers have responded, and what to expect in the coming weeks.
1) How are the Canadian wildfires affecting US air quality?
The wildfires have had a significant impact on the air quality in multiple US states. In the past few months, they’ve affected different parts of the country due to the locations of the fires as well as weather patterns that have carried smoke southward.
In May, western states including Montana and Colorado issued air quality warnings as fires in British Columbia and Alberta contributed to smoke in those areas. In early June, East Coast states and cities including New York and Philadelphia also put forth air quality alerts due to severe smoke and haze in the region. Early this week, Midwestern states bore the brunt of the latest wave of wildfire smoke, with Detroit and Chicago listed as having the worst air quality in the world. On Wednesday, however, East Coast states also began issuing new alerts as the smoke — which has traveled as far as Europe — moves in that direction.
Currently, more than a dozen US states have issued some form of air quality alert as the wildfires in Canada have continued. All told, more than a third of Americans live somewhere that has a warning in place.
Smoke from the fires…
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