Canadian Wildfires Bring Hazy Skies Over Northeastern U.S.

Just the News: Wildfires raging across the Canadian regions of Quebec and Nova Scotia have brought poor air quality and hazy skies to much of the northeastern United States in recent days.

The country’s wildfire season has already seen more than 6.7 million acres burn this year, making it one of the worst fire periods in Canadian history, according to NBC News. More than 14,000 Quebecois have been evacuated and more than 150 fires are still burning in the province.

Smoke clouds and reduced visibility from air pollutants have affected much of the country, as well as the northern frontier of the U.S., though smoke has reportedly reached southward to the Carolinas.

The heavy smoke from the Canadian wildfires has Manhattan looking like a dystopian hellscape (more than usual) https://t.co/juiLMmss1v

— Monica Crowley (@MonicaCrowley) June 7, 2023

Much of New York, including both Manhattan and much of the upstate region, faces an ongoing air quality warning due to the fires. Air quality data from the Environmental Protection agency shows the western region of New York and northern Pennsylvania sufferingfrom some of the worst conditions as of press time.

The government-maintained AirNow interactive map of air quality nationwide warns inhabitants of those areas to “limit or avoid outdoor physical activity.”