Smoke from Canadian wildfires is spreading across parts of the United States, prompting air quality alerts in several states and raising health concerns for millions of residents.
Wildfires burning across Canada are producing vast smoke plumes that are traveling hundreds of miles south, degrading air quality far beyond the fire zones themselves.
Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Colorado are among the states under air quality alerts, issued by the National Weather Service (NWS), linked to wildfire smoke, while smoke is also contributing to air quality concerns in parts of New York and potentially Illinois.
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According to the local Boston news outlet WBUR, Massachusetts is also being affected by the smoke plume, with forecasters warning of hazy skies across New England, although the greatest ground-level air quality impacts are expected farther west.
The NWS warns that wildfire smoke can lead to elevated levels of fine particle pollution (PM2.5), which can trigger breathing difficulties and aggravate asthma and heart conditions, particularly for sensitive groups, which include children, older adults, and people with existing respiratory illnesses.
This is a developing story. More to follow.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Ben Kelly and Tony Phillips