Smoke from hundreds of wildfires in Canada prompted air quality warnings in parts of the United States on Friday.
More than 800 wildfires are burning across Canada and clouds of thick smoke have spread across the south, affecting major cities including Detroit, Chicago and New York.
Air quality readings recorded ‘hazardous’ in cities
Detroit and Chicago both issued air quality index readings in the “hazardous” range, while in New York, the metro area was shrouded in a smoke-colored haze considered unhealthy for sensitive groups.
National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters warn that conditions could worsen overnight into Saturday morning.
AFP news agency quoted NWS meteorologist Peter Mullinax as saying that winds in the Great Lakes region could push more smoke into the northeast, causing hazy skies.
Some air quality forecasters worry that more smoke will blow southward after the weekend weather systems.
World Cup organizers are ‘monitoring closely’
FIFA World Cup organizers said they are “closely monitoring” the situation at the final between Spain and Argentina at the New York New Jersey Stadium, which has been affected by poor air quality.
“There have been discussions about it, and we have someone with the National Weather Service who sits at FIFA headquarters, so we’re monitoring closely,” Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House World Cup Task Force, said at a briefing.
Millions of hectares of land were burnt
There were about 903 active fires burning in the country on Friday, of which 122 were considered out of control. According to the Canadian government.
So far, 2,784 million hectares (about 6.8 million acres) have burned.
“Wildfire conditions have escalated significantly over the past three weeks across the country, and particularly in northwestern Ontario,” Premier Mark Carney said Wednesday night.
“Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their communities, not knowing whether their homes will survive.”
Edited by: Rana Taha
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