Canadian Wildfires Threaten U.S. Air Quality Again

Canadian wildfires are once again threatening the air quality in several U.S. cities. As wildfires rage across western Canada, prompting air quality alerts and evacuations, parts of the Central U.S. are facing unhealthy pollution levels. This comes a year after record-breaking flames engulfed most of the East Coast in smoke.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued an air quality alert on Monday for the state’s southern region, affecting cities like Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Rochester. Smoke from the wildfires is traveling south toward Iowa, leading to unhealthy air pollution levels across the state.

In northern Wisconsin, cities like Eau Claire and Green Bay are also experiencing unhealthy air quality, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow tracker has recorded unhealthy air quality caused by smoke across eastern Montana, the Dakotas, and most of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Additionally, air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups, such as people with asthma, heart, or lung disease, has been recorded in northern Nebraska and Iowa.

A surprising fact is that Minneapolis briefly surpassed Jakarta, Indonesia, as the most polluted major city in the world, according to the global air quality tracker IQAir. The city’s level of PM 2.5—airborne particles less than 2.5 microns in diameter—reached 171, an unhealthy level that prompted residents to limit their time outdoors, according to the EPA.

Currently, there are 146 fires burning across Canada, with 39 considered “out of control” and 93 under control, according to Canada’s fire agency. Most of these fires are affecting British Columbia (50) and Alberta (45). Evacuation orders have been issued for some communities in northern British Columbia, including a travel advisory for the Fort Nelson area due to “aggressive and extreme” fires. In Alberta, an evacuation alert for communities near Fort McMurray was issued due to an “out-of-control wildfire” that burned about 16,000 acres as of Sunday evening.

Looking ahead, drought conditions are expected to persist in high-risk regions throughout western Canada in May, along with above-average temperatures that could worsen the risk and intensity of wildfires, as stated by the Canadian government on Friday.

Last year, Canada experienced its worst-ever wildfire season, with over 6,551 total fires burning across the country. Wind pushed wildfire smoke towards the U.S., covering the eastern U.S. in a sepia haze. This led to New York City briefly becoming the most polluted city in the world, affecting air quality from Minnesota to northern Virginia.