Michigan: Here’s the Latest on the Wildfire Smoke
The Canadian wildfires are still burning. That means many U.S. cities are experiencing poor air qualities due to the wildfire smoke.
Roughly 20 states are under air quality alerts as of Friday (June 30). The poor air quality is expected to last for at least another day. It’s expected to start to clear during July 4 weekend.
So, which cities are currently being impacted? Cities under air quality alerts on Friday include Detroit, Philadelphia, New York, Green Bay, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Washington D.C., Charlotte, Atlanta, Birmingham, St. Lewis and Syracuse, to name a handful, according to AirNow.gov. Some cities in the Midwest recorded the worst air quality in the world on Tuesday and Wednesday, including Detroit and Chicago.
As for those in most danger, the majority of the thickest smoke is expected to travel from the eastern Great Lakes to the Interstate 95 corridor and to parts of the Southeast on Friday. The next day, the smoke is expected to begin to lift. However, some haze will still remain on the East Coast.
The bad news is that there’s no prediction on when the wildfires might end. They are likely to last a while, because of the lingering dry conditions and intense heat in Canada right now. So far, the Canadian wildfire season has been one for the books with a record 19.5 million acres already burned. Canada has also broken its record for annual wildfire smoke emissions.