Topline
Hundreds of fires are burning across Canada as of Saturday, with smoke from the blazes worsening air quality in the Midwest, ranking Chicago and Minneapolis among the world’s most polluted cities.
Air quality alerts have been issued across most of the Midwest, and hundreds of wildfires are burning across Canada.
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Key Facts
Air quality advisories have been issued in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and Michigan, as each state warned Canadian wildfires would make the air “unhealthy” for sensitive groups, or people with preexisting conditions like asthma, heart or lung disease.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency warned of worsening air quality across the northeastern section of the state, with the highest levels of “unhealthy” readings near Duluth, Hibbing and around Minneapolis.
An air quality advisory will remain in effect in Wisconsin through Saturday, officials said, noting conditions could continue to worsen through Sunday as wildfire smoke potentially moves farther south.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency said air pollution and air quality alerts are in effect in and around Chicago as wildfire smoke “remains in the region,” as officials warned those with preexisting conditions should reduce exposure by shortening the amount of time spent outdoors.
Surprising Fact
Minneapolis ranks as the third-most polluted major city in the world, according to the global air quality tracker IQAir. The city’s level of PM 2.5—airborne particles less than 2.5 microns in diameter—stood at 134 as of Saturday morning, ranking the city ahead of Doha, Qatar, and behind Kolkata, India, and Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, as the most-polluted cities. Chicago ranks as the ninth-most polluted city, with a PM 2.5 level of 105. Minneapolis briefly became the world’s most polluted city in 2024 following another series of Canadian wildfires.
Tangent
Fire weather alerts have been issued in parts of Utah and Colorado, where the National Weather Service warned of high winds and lower humidity. The Monroe Canyon Fire in Utah has burned more than 55,000 acres and is only 5% contained as of Saturday, as state officials have issued evacuation orders for surrounding areas. Other fire weather alerts were issued for parts of Hawaii amid drier weather and wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour.
Key Background
There are more than 700 active wildfires across Canada as of Saturday, with most of the blazes occurring in British Columbia, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories, according to Canadian fire officials. About 216 of the fires are considered to be “out of control,” while 151 are under control and 284 are being monitored. Wildfires in Canada have burned more than 6.6 million hectares this year so far, accounting for an area nearly the size of Missouri. Wildfires hit a record-breaking pace in Canada in 2023, when New York City was blanketed in an orange haze. Republican lawmakers in the U.S. have criticized Canada’s wildfire preparedness, with some penning a letter to Ambassador Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., implying that a “lack of active forest management” worsened the wildfires. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew accused the Republicans of being “ambulance chasers” and suggested they support American firefighters sent to combat the blazes.