Smoke from wildfires harms air quality in northern U.S.

Hundreds of wildfires continued to burn across Canada on Tuesday, sending smoke into portions of the United States as air quality alerts were issued from Minnesota to Massachusetts.

In Ontario, a layer of haze blanketed parts of Ottawa and Toronto, where Canadian officials warned residents about the poor air quality as smoke floated over portions of New York state and Vermont.

All of New York City was under an air quality alert Tuesday because of the smoke; by afternoon, the Manhattan skyline was obscured by hazy skies.

More than 400 active wildfires were burning in Canada on Tuesday, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, exacerbating an already active wildfire season that is only expected to worsen. More than 200 of the fires were burning out of control, the agency said.

In eastern Canada, Quebec was most affected by wildfires as of early Tuesday afternoon, with more than 150 active blazes across the area, according to the fire agency. Residents in some areas were being encouraged to shut their windows and doors, local officials in Quebec said.

As of Monday, an estimated 26,000 people across Canada had been evacuated from their homes because of wildfires, Bill Blair, Canada's minister of public safety, said at a news conference.

Bands of smoke from the numerous wildfires were expected to shift southward across the border Tuesday, creating hazy skies and prompting the U.S. National Weather Service to issue air quality alerts for parts of the upper Great Lakes and the Northeast.

Large swaths of Minnesota were under an air quality alert through the evening Tuesday, the weather service said. Light winds pushed smoke from wildfires in Quebec across Minnesota. Smoke also moved into the state from Lake Superior.

Weather officials warned that people more sensitive to poor air quality, such as people with lung disease and heart disease, children and older adults, should limit certain activities outdoors.

Air quality alerts were also in place for New York City and multiple counties in upstate New York through midnight.

Mayor Eric Adams of New York said on Twitter that New Yorkers with heart or breathing issues should limit their time outside “to the absolute necessities.” Similar alerts were issued for parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont.

PHOTO BY ED JONES — AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES A child stands on the shore near the New York City skyline and East River that are both shrouded in smoke on Monday. Wildfires in Canada are affecting the area’s air quality.