Wildfire Smoke from Canada and Minnesota Reaches Midwest and Northeast, Triggering Air Quality Alerts

Smoke from more than 100 wildfires burning in Canada and several fires raging in northern Minnesota reached the Midwest and Northeast on July 16, 2026, pushing air quality in Detroit, Minneapolis and Chicago into the top five most polluted major cities worldwide.

Minnesota officials issued an air quality alert through Friday for the Twin Cities metro area and warned of very heavy smoke across the northeastern part of the state, where levels reached hazardous conditions unsafe for everyone. The entire state of Michigan remained under an air quality alert, while Pennsylvania declared a Code Red alert after smoke created unhealthy pollution levels for all residents.

New York state placed an advisory in effect for all counties and said N95-style masks would be distributed to commuters in New York City. Massachusetts issued a statewide advisory after skies over Boston shifted from milky white to brown-yellow on July 15. Yellowish haze also covered Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine on July 15.

In Brattleboro, Vermont, the smoke produced an orange tint, and Midtown Manhattan appeared shrouded before sunset. Tyler Hasenstein, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Chanhassen, Minnesota, advised residents to stay indoors as much as possible. "Those two things coinciding with each other is not good from a health perspective," he said, referring to the smoke and extreme heat.

Dr. Alexander Azan, an assistant professor at NYU Langone Health, said fine particle pollution can cause shortness of breath, coughing and fatigue while aggravating heart and lung conditions. A study released earlier this year linked chronic exposure to wildfire smoke pollution with tens of thousands of deaths annually in the United States.