Gov. Hochul Urges Mask Use as Canadian Wildfire Smoke Blankets NY

The National Weather Service (NWS) on Thursday issued air quality advisories for a large portion of the East Coast and Midwest as smoke from Canadian wildfires inundate much of the northern portions of North America, prompting the governor of New York to advise people to wear masks.

An “influx of cooler air” across the eastern United States “will also bring smoke from Canadian wildfires into the northeastern quarter of the country,” the NWS said in a bulletin on Thursday.

“Meanwhile, another day of triple-digit high temperatures and elevated humidity is expected for the northern Mid-Atlantic before readings drop slightly into the 90s on Friday,” the bulletin reads.

“Some strong thunderstorms are possible later today across northern New England prior to the arrival of the second cold front.”

Air quality alerts were issued for every county in New York state, Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, according to a map from the federal weather agency.

Large portions of Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Jersey, Delaware, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Maryland, and Ohio were under the advisory. Advisories were issued in several counties in Illinois, Indiana, Virginia, and Montana.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a post on social media that smoke and haze from Canadian ​wildfires were creating unhealthy air conditions across ⁠the state and encouraged people, especially those with health conditions, to exercise caution.

“Air quality is expected to worsen, with very unhealthy conditions affecting much of the state,” she wrote on Thursday morning, adding that some New Yorkers should “drink plenty of water and mask up.”

“We’ve provided high quality N95 masks to counties across the state” and local authorities along with the National Guard will “distribute them at major locations throughout New York City,” she added.

Residents were also advised to check on neighbors, namely people with health conditions or seniors, Hochul wrote.

IQAir, a Swiss air quality technology company, ranked Detroit as having the worst air quality in the world as of Thursday morning. Next were Toronto, Minneapolis, and Chicago, according to the company, outpacing cities such as Delhi in India and Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

New York City was ranked as No. 11 on IQAir’s global list, surpassing Beijing.

A map updated by Canadian officials on Thursday shows that dozens of wildfires are burning—many considered out of control—across the country. More than 2.3 million hectares, or 5.6 million acres, are currently on fire, according to the Canadian government.

Most of the fires were in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Ontario.

This week, the fires trapped two small groups of children from Minnesota who were in the Canadian wilderness on a camping trip organized by the YMCA, a worldwide youth association, officials said. One of the groups was evacuated by helicopter in coordination with the Canadian military, authorities added.

“Both groups have been rescued and are on ​their way back home to safety,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said on X on Wednesday.

Reuters contributed to this report.