Wildfire smoke map: When US air quality from Canada fires will improve trends now
Raging wildfires across Canada have caused thick smoke to spread south in the United States and brought dangerous levels of air pollution to the most populous parts of the country.
Hazy fog has blanketed the skies through parts of the Northeast and Midwest and reached New York City, Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore, Ohio Valley and Virginia.
And the smoke has reached as far west as Minnesota, South Carolina and the Georgia-Florida border.
Around 100 million people are facing unhealthy levels of air quality and environmental agencies across the US have blasted alerts warning people to stay indoors.
But everybody is left wondering when the sky will return to normal? Here are answers to some of the most popular questions about the thick haze.
New York City was covered by a thick sheet of smoke Tuesday evening due to record wildfires in Canada
Hazy skies caused by Canadian wildfires blanket the monuments and skyline of Washington
The GM Renaissance Center in Detroit is seen through haze and smoke Tuesday
The Boston skyline pictured shrouded in smoke as the sun sets, in Boston, Massachusetts on June 6, 2023
Much of the smoke has been pouring into America is from Canada which has been ravaged by wildfires, especially in the Quebec province.
There are currently 416 active fires across Canada and 240 have been classified by the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center as 'out of control'. The fires have burned more than 8 million acres - roughly the size of 8 million football fields.
On Tuesday morning in Quebec more than 160 forest fires were burning and at least 114 were out of control, most of which broke out in the past week.
Canadian officials classify this year as one of the country's worst fire seasons ever.
Experts have blamed a warmer and drier spring as normal as the reason for the high number of wildfires.
And these conditions are expected to continue throughout the summer which is a cause for concern.
Smoke billowing from a major wildfire in Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada on June 3, 2023
Canada is currently experiencing its worst wildfire season in recent memory, with over 6.7 million acres burned since the start of the year
A construction worker walks past damage left by a wildfire in Nova Scotia, Canada
A firefighter directs water on a grass fire burning on an acreage behind a residential property in British Columbia
The eastern Canadian city of Halifax in Nova Scotia declared a state of local emergency late on Sunday after a wildfire caused evacuations and power outages
A map showing the active wildfires across Canada which have spread across 8.4 million acres of land
It is not clear how long the skies will remain covered in smoke, and it is dependent on which way the wind travels.
Some cities in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio are expected to see some improvement by Wednesday morning, but others such as Virginia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and the Carolinas will see the thick haze remain.
The situation could even get worse across the north through Thursday as wildfires continue to burn in Canada.
The smoke could spread again into New York, Philadelphia, Newark, Washington, Richmond, Virginia, and Baltimore, which would add to the very poor air quality.
Visibility and sky conditions will improve on Friday into Saturday as the winds become more northwesterly, but it will not fully clear the smoke.
