Wildfire Crisis in Canada Affects Air Quality Across the U.S. – June 2025
As of Tuesday afternoon, over 212 active wildfires were raging across Canada, with around half of them deemed uncontrollable, per the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. The impact of this wildfire outbreak is cascading southward, with smoke now enveloping approximately one-third of the United States.
Forecasters have noted that the haze particularly affected air quality in New England, parts of New York, and regions in the Midwest. Alerts were issued for many areas in both Canada and the neighboring U.S., highlighting hazardous levels of particulate pollution stretching from Minnesota to the Ohio Valley, impacting as far south as Georgia. According to the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, the smoke has been especially dense in New York and New England.
Marc Chenard from the National Weather Service explained that much of the smoke is currently present in the upper atmosphere, meaning many areas are not experiencing significant air quality issues. However, the smoky conditions remain severe in places like New York and Connecticut, where the pollution has settled into the lower atmosphere.
Since early May, the wildfire situation has escalated dramatically, with around 2 million hectares (approximately 4.9 million acres) already scorched. The majority of these fires are concentrated in west-central provinces such as Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Notably, a water tanker air base in Saskatchewan was devastated by flames, and oil production in Alberta has faced significant disruptions. Officials are sounding alarms as more communities find themselves at risk each day.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe expressed grave concerns during a news conference, indicating that the number of evacuees is expected to rise rapidly as conditions worsen.
In Manitoba, the government has declared a province-wide state of emergency. An aerial photograph from the Manitoba Government, dated May 29, 2025, shows firefighting aircraft battling flames in Nopiming Provincial Park, amid a severe wildfire season that has already led to the evacuation of over 17,000 residents.
Yang Liu, an environmental health expert at Emory University in Atlanta, warned that the smoke poses a risk to all demographics, particularly the elderly, infants, and those with pre-existing health issues. The harmful particulates in the smoke are smaller than 1/40th the width of a human hair, enabling them to penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream.
By Wednesday morning, certain regions in the northeastern U.S. faced dire air quality levels, with Williamstown, Massachusetts—located near the Vermont and New York borders—recording a “very unhealthy” level of 228, according to IQAir. Comparatively, New York City registered a more moderate score of 56, while Washington, D.C. showed similar improvement at 55.
Air quality in parts of the Midwest also saw positive changes, like Ely, Minnesota, which dropped to a “moderate” reading of 65 from an alarming 336 just a day prior. Minneapolis, once listed as having the third-worst air quality in the world, improved from a rating of 168 to 96.
The situation remains critical as the wildfires continue to rage, causing widespread disruption and health concerns across Canada and the United States.