Smoke from hundreds of wildfires burning in Canada has prompted air quality warnings across parts of the United States on Friday.
More than 800 wildfires are burning across Canada and the clouds of dense smoke have spread south, choking major cities including Detroit, Chicago, and New York.
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Cities record ‘hazardous’ air quality readings
Both Detroit and Chicago issued air quality index readings in the “hazardous” range, while in New York, the metro area was shrouded in a smoke tinted haze, deemed unhealthy for sensitive groups.
National Weather Service (NWS) forecasts have warned that conditions may worsen overnight into Saturday morning.
The AFP news agency cited NWS meteorologist Peter Mullinax as saying that wind over the Great Lakes region could cause more smoke to pour into the Northeast, which could keep skies hazy.
There is concern from some air quality forecasters that more smoke is blown south after weekend weather systems.
World Cup organizers ‘monitoring closely’
FIFA World Cup Organizers said they were “monitoring closely” the situation with the final between Spain and Argentina due to take place in New York New Jersey Stadium, which has been impacted by the poor air quality.
“There’s been discussion about it, and we have somebody with the National Weather Service that sits in FIFA headquarters there, so we’re monitoring closely,” Andrew Giuliani, White House World Cup task force executive director, told a briefing.
Millions of hectares burnt
Around 903 active fires were burning in the country on Friday, with 122 of that number considered out of control, according to the Canadian government.
So far, 2.784 million hectares (roughly 6.8 million acres) have burned.
“The wildfire situation has escalated significantly over the last three weeks across the country, and particularly in Northwestern Ontario,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Wednesday night.
“Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their communities, not knowing if their homes will survive.”
Edited by: Rana Taha
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