Wildfire smoke has crossed the border into the United States from over 100 active wildfires burning in Canada, leading Minnesota officials to issue the state’s first air quality advisory of 2024 on Sunday.
Officials have declared 40 out of the 140 current flames in Canada to be “out of control,” a designation given to a number of the country’s recent wildfires.
Ninety-one of the current wildfires are located in the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. Wildfire smoke has spread throughout the United States, from Montana to Wisconsin, but it is heaviest in Minnesota on Sunday.
The state of Minnesota has an air quality alert in effect as of Sunday and will stay that way until Monday.
Today, the majority of northern Minnesota’s Air Quality Index (AQI) has been between 150 and 200, which is considered “unhealthy.” At times, the AQI has exceeded 200, placing the region in a “very unhealthy” category.
Bemidji, a community in northern Minnesota, was among the places with the worst air quality in the world on Sunday when it recorded an AQI of 212, meaning that inhabitants could smell smoke in the air at these levels.
Officials have warned residents, particularly those with allergies, to make sure their windows are closed from Sunday night until Monday morning as medium to heavy smoke levels are expected to rise to the surface in Minneapolis, Minnesota, overnight.
The countrywide wildfire smoke is expected to be significantly less by Monday morning, with medium levels extending from Wisconsin to southern Minnesota.
The wildfire smoke flow is expected to cause some hazier skies by Monday evening in Omaha, Nebraska. A study published in February found that the consequences of wildfire smoke are a growing concern throughout the United States and are only predicted to get worse.
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According to First Street Foundation, 125 million Americans may face shocking health hazards by the middle of the century as a result of wildfire smoke.
A heavy, orange haze covered areas of the Northeast and Midwest in June 2023 due to smoke from the wildfires in Canada.
AirNow reported at the time that there were air quality alerts in effect in eighteen states, ranging from Montana to New York and as far south as Georgia. According to IQ Air, New York City topped the list of cities with the poorest air quality in the world by a wide margin.
Everyone is exposed to startling health hazards from wildfire smoke, but those with pre-existing medical issues are more vulnerable. The EPA claims that smoking from wildfires increases the risk of lung cancer, heart disease, strokes, and early mortality.
