Air quality plummets in 20 US states as smoke from Canadian wildfires spreads

• 01Smoke from more than 180 active wildfires in northern Ontario and parts of Minnesota has spread across the US, triggering air quality alerts in over 20 states.
• 02On Thursday evening, IQAir ranked Chicago as having the worst air quality in the world, followed by Detroit and Minneapolis.
• 03New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani stated, "Today is expected to be the worst day of this event," urging all residents to take precautions due to unhealthy air levels.
• 04NASA reported that winds carried smoke from Ontario fires southeast over Quebec, the US Midwest, and the Northeast, causing the sky to appear gray, yellow, or orange.
• 05The US Environmental Protection Agency reported "unhealthy" air quality levels in parts of Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Michigan, and "hazardous" levels in specific areas of Pennsylvania, Michigan (near Detroit), Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
• 06New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced the availability of more than 100,000 N95-style masks for counties and transit hubs such as Penn Station and Grand Central.
• 07New York City extended its heat emergency plan operations, including opening hundreds of cooling centers, in response to high temperatures and incoming wildfire smoke.
• 08Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey linked the smoke events to a "record El Niño forecast" and stated that climate change is increasing the frequency of wildfire smoke days.
• 09Air quality alerts remain in effect in various regions until midnight on Thursday, with rain expected on Saturday ahead of the World Cup final in New Jersey on Sunday.

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Wildfire smoke from Canada and Minnesota has degraded air quality across more than 20 US states, with IQAir ranking Chicago’s air as the worst globally on Thursday. Local and federal officials issued health alerts urging residents to stay indoors, particularly those with respiratory conditions, while New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani predicted the day would be the worst of the event. In response, New York Governor Kathy Hochul distributed over 100,000 N95 masks and extended heat emergency protocols as authorities monitored the situation for potential deterioration.