Smoke from Canada wildfires expected to last through the weekend

Smoke from Canada’s raging wildfires blanketed Northeast Pennsylvania on Thursday and won’t let up soon, though the region has likely seen the worst of it.

The smoky conditions are expected to last through the weekend, said Danielle Knittle, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Binghamton forecast office. The most dense smoke was expected Thursday.

“I think the worst of it is going to be through early tomorrow,” Knittle said Thursday morning.

The Luzerne County Courthouse is shrouded in haze on Thursday, July 16, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

Friday may bring some relief, with the smoke shifting, she said. It may dissipate by early next week.

The state Department of Environmental Protection issued a statewide Code Red Air Quality Action Day for Thursday. The U.S. Air Quality Index listed the air quality for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton metropolitan area as “unhealthy.”

The smoke brought cooler temperatures, with regional highs in the mid-80s, Knittle said, a drop from the upper 90s earlier this week. There is little cloud cover and rain in the forecast.

“You’re blocking some of that UV light and the heat is getting down,” she said.