Air quality has been hit hard throughout the United States, as the double blow of wildfires in the West and Canada has caused smoke to influx throughout much of the country, a problem that will last for days.
Millions of states in the Midwest and Northeast regions on Wednesday were actually an air quality alert due to smoke from Canadian wildfires. Smoke concentrations in these areas have alleviated some of the problems since Monday, but remains a major health problem, especially for respiratory problems, children and older people.
Smoke from fierce wildfires in the western United States has also reduced air quality in several states, especially in Southern California, where crew members are battling the state’s biggest fire of the year.
As fossil fuel pollution continues to warm the world, wildfire burning in parts of Canada and the United States is getting more and more frequent. Moreover, the most extreme wildfires in North America are becoming increasingly intense, leaving wildfire smoke open to affect more people.
As of Wednesday, there were more than 500 out-of-control wildfires in Canada. Among those uncontrolled fires, Manitoba burned more than 160, and nearly 130 in British Columbia.
Over the weekend, these fires and smoke from nearby provinces spread across the border, behind a powerful cold front, erasing two-thirds of the eastern U.S. high temperatures. Shortly thereafter, a high-pressure area was developed and parked in parts of eastern Canada and northeastern United States, and captured the smoke from the plains to the Northeast.
Therefore, air quality begins a week in parts of the Midwest and Northeast.
Detroit had the third worst air quality in any major global city on Monday, spending most of the day with unhealthy or 4th grade in the 6th grade air quality. Chicago's fourth air quality and Detroit rank eighth in pollution levels in major cities around the world, according to data from IQAIR, a company that tracks global air quality.
Wildfire smoke contains very dangerous small pollutants called PM2.5 that can penetrate deep into the lungs or enter the blood when inhaled. Tiny particles can cause respiratory problems such as bronchitis and cause inflammation, exacerbating diabetes, heart disease and other health conditions.
Smoke near the surfaces of these areas will begin to be cleared on Wednesday, but for most of the week, the atmosphere is higher, and then a new cold front will help clear it over the weekend.
Advanced smoke has less impact on air quality, but can hazy the sky, sometimes turning the sunshine into a brilliant orange color and enhancing sunrises and sunsets.
Wildfire smoke also causes air quality problems in the west, but the smoke is native.
According to the National Inter-Agency Fire Center, strong and large wildfires burned a portion of 10 Western countries, with some emitting smoke hundreds of miles away.
The Gifford Fire in California became the state's largest wildfire this year on Tuesday, surpassing the land burned by the Madre Fire in July. It has been burned by nearly 84,000 acres of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties since it ignited Friday, and as of Tuesday night, it was only 9% of people.
With warm, dry air and gusts of winds continuing to boost fire growth, the evacuation order was actually part of the county on Tuesday, and the weather for firefighters this week was hardly helpful. The fire acts extreme: it burns about the size of a football field every 2 seconds to Monday morning on average.
Smoke from the Gifford Fire poured into other parts of Southern California on Monday and air quality was conducted in other parts of the area including Las Vegas on Monday.
In fact, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Las Vegas area’s air quality was the worst since February 2023 on Monday. On Monday afternoon, the air quality index was maximized at the upper end of the unhealthy level 4-level 4.
Arizona's Dragon Bravo Fire also radiated smoke eastward along the northern edge of the Grand Canyon. Since the July 4 lightning strike, the giant Phil has grown into one of the largest history in Arizona’s history. It is burned by dozens of structures including historic huts and becomes so intense that it sometimes creates its own weather.
Another wildfire that has created its own weather in recent days and threatened nearby communities is the Monroe Canyon Fire in Utah. It is the largest wildfire in the year in the state, and has burned more than 63,000 acres since it began in mid-July. As of Tuesday night, the fire was only 15%.
The smoke and Dragon Bravo fires from Monroe Canyon Fire sometimes merge and spread to part of Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico.
The wildfire season in the United States is far from over, and the smoke problem will continue as long as there are fires. According to the forecasts shown by the state agency Interency Fire Center, the West will remain the main wildfire hot spot for at least September.