Canadian wildfire smoke invades the US again will millions under air quality alerts
Millions of Americans are under air quality alerts due to thick plumes of smoke billowing into the U.S. from Canada.
More than 67 million Americans across the U.S. awoke to air quality alerts Tuesday as smoke from wildfires burning across Canada continues to fill the sky, leading to potential health hazards.
What began this weekend with "unhealthy" air quality levels across parts of the West has pushed off to the east at the start of the workweek, leaving a smoky haze in places such as Boston.
US AIR QUALITY MAP
More than 67 million under air quality alerts Tuesday
Current air quality alerts across the eastern half of the U.S. on Tuesday, July 18, 2023. (FOX Weather)
Air quality alerts remain in effect across portions of the Midwest, including northwestern Minnesota.
However, the bulk of wildfire smoke has spread to the eastern half of the U.S., which is where a majority of the air quality alerts will remain in effect through at least Tuesday night.
Millions of Americans across the Northeast and New England could see potential health hazards from the smoke.
SEE EERIE ORANGE SKIES OVER NEW YORK CITY AS CANADIAN WILDFIRE SMOKE BLANKETS NORTHEAST
Watch: Red sun rises above Lake Erie
Smoke from wildfires burning in Canada led to a beautiful, hazy sunrise above Ontario's Lake Erie on Monday, July 17, 2023.
Major cities across the region that are most at risk include Cleveland and Dayton in Ohio, but also along the Interstate 95 corridor from New Jersey to Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington.
New York City is not included in the air quality alerts. However, areas around the Big Apple are included.
To the south, air quality alerts are in effect in the Atlanta metro.
MARS OR MANHATTAN? WILDFIRE SMOKE DRAWS COMPARISONS TO RED PLANET
Canadian wildfire smoke returns to the eastern US
Air quality alerts have been issued for millions of Americans as toxic wildfire smoke filters into the U.S. from Canada. FOX Weather correspondent Nicole Valdes is in New Jersey with more information.
Where is the air quality bad right now?
The eastern half of the U.S. is where the worst air quality levels have been reported since Tuesday morning.
"Moderate" levels have seemed to dominate the skies from the Northeast to the mid-Atlantic and into the Southeast.
However, "unhealthy" air quality is being reported in portions of Georgia. "Unhealthy for sensitive groups" air quality levels have been reported across portions of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Those levels have also been reported across the Carolinas, portions of eastern Virginia and eastern Tennessee.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) ranges from 0 to 500, with smaller values indicating cleaner air and any readings above 300 being hazardous.
When is the smoke going away?
Areas of the U.S. seeing smoke from Canadian wildfires on Tuesday, July 18, 2023. (FOX Weather)
According to the FOX Forecast Center, there is no indication that the smoke will disappear completely anytime soon. The wildfires burning in Canada continue to burn out of control. Therefore, plumes of smoke will continue to filter into the U.S. from time to time as the weather patterns change.
Some relief is expected in the Northeast on Wednesday as this current plume blows out to sea. However, as storm systems move across the country, winds will help to shift the smoke into different regions.
No orange-sky repeat for Northeast, New York City
Orange skies caused by wildfire smoke from Canada are seen over Times Square in New York City on June 7, 2023.
(Pam Ng)
Scenes across New York City are seen on June 7, 2023, amid hazy conditions due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires. People in the city other areas are expected to have another day of bad air Thursday due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires. Air quality advisories continue to be in place for all five boroughs of the city of more than 8 million people.
(Ezio Cairoli)
Scenes across New York City are seen on June 7, 2023, amid hazy conditions due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires. People in the city other areas are expected to have another day of bad air Thursday due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires. Air quality advisories continue to be in place for all five boroughs of the city of more than 8 million people.
(Ezio Cairoli)
Scenes across New York City are seen on June 7, 2023, amid hazy conditions due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires. People in the city other areas are expected to have another day of bad air Thursday due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires. Air quality advisories continue to be in place for all five boroughs of the city of more than 8 million people.
(Ezio Cairoli)
Scenes across New York City are seen on June 7, 2023, amid hazy conditions due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires. People in the city other areas are expected to have another day of bad air Thursday due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires. Air quality advisories continue to be in place for all five boroughs of the city of more than 8 million people.
(Ezio Cairoli)
Scenes across New York City are seen on June 7, 2023, amid hazy conditions due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires. People in the city other areas are expected to have another day of bad air Thursday due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires. Air quality advisories continue to be in place for all five boroughs of the city of more than 8 million people.
(Ezio Cairoli)
Scenes across New York City are seen on June 7, 2023, amid hazy conditions due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires. People in the city other areas are expected to have another day of bad air Thursday due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires. Air quality advisories continue to be in place for all five boroughs of the city of more than 8 million people.
(Ezio Cairoli)
A cyclist rides under a blanket of haze partially obscuring the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on June 8, 2023.
(Mandel NGAN / AFP)
WASHINGTON, DC- JUNE 07: Tourists visit the Lincoln Memorial under hazy skies caused by Canadian wildfires on June 07, 2023 in Washington, DC. Air quality levels remain in red for most of the East Coast due to smoke from wildfires that have been burning in Canada for weeks. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON, DC- JUNE 07: Tourists visit the World War II Memorial under hazy skies caused by Canadian wildfires on June 07, 2023 in Washington, DC. Air quality levels remain in red for most of the East Coast due to smoke from wildfires that have been burning in Canada for weeks. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON, DC- JUNE 07: Hazy skies are seen over Arlington, VA as people are seen near the Potomac River on Wednesday June 07, 2023 in Washington, DC. Smoke from wildfires in Canada have darkened the skies and effected the air quality in some of the United States. (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
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Scenes across New York City are seen on June 7, 2023, amid hazy conditions due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires. People in the city other areas are expected to have another day of bad air Thursday due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires. Air quality advisories continue to be in place for all five boroughs of the city of more than 8 million people.
(Ezio Cairoli)
A photo showing the orange sky from wildfire smoke at Spring Lake park in South Plainfield, New Jersey on June 7, 2023. (Image credit: @hurricaneville/Twitter)
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 7: Traffic goes over the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge as smoke from Canadian wildfires casts a haze over the area on June 7, 2023 in New York City. Air pollution alerts were issued across the United States due to smoke from wildfires that have been burning in Canada for weeks.
(Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
JERSEY CITY, NJ - JUNE 7: Smoke continues to shroud the sun as it rises behind the skyline of lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in New York City on June 7, 2023, as seen from Jersey City, New Jersey.
(Gary Hershorn)
The Statue of Liberty stands shrouded in a reddish haze as a result of Canadian wildfires on June 06, 2023 in New York City. Over 100 wildfires are burning in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia and Quebec resulting in air quality health alerts for the Adirondacks, Eastern Lake Ontario, Central New York and Western New York.
(Spencer Platt)
A child stands on the shore before the New York city skyline and east river shrouded in smoke, in Brooklyn on June 6, 2023.
(ED JONES/AFP)
The Downtown Manhattan skyline stands shrouded in a reddish haze as a result of Canadian wildfires on June 06, 2023 in New York City.
(Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency)
The Downtown Manhattan skyline stands shrouded in a reddish haze as a result of Canadian wildfires on June 06, 2023 in New York City.
(Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency)
A view of orange haze illuminated the skies across the East on Tuesday morning as wildfire smoke from Canada spread across the East in New York, United States on June 6, 2023.
(Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency)
While cities in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic will likely see smoke Tuesday from the wildfires, it will not be anything like what cities such as New York City and Washington experienced in June when the sky turned an eerie orange color.
On June 7, thick smoke from Canadian wildfires led to the worst air quality on record for New York City.
Images taken from New York showed strange scenes that looked like a science-fiction movie with the sky an apocalyptic orange.
Millions of people were forced to stay indoors, and even Major League Baseball officials opted to postpone games.
People visiting many of the monuments in Washington, as well as national park rangers, were also seen wearing masks to protect themselves from the harmful effects of the wildfire smoke back in June.