MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Canada wildfire smoke blankets New York, Chicago and Detroit days before World Cup final

In New York, the Emergency Management Office urged people to avoid outdoor activity, while city workers asked passersby to leave the parks

A dense cloud of smoke from the hundreds of wildfires burning in Canada covered much of the US northeast and southern Canada on Thursday, sharply worsening air quality in cities such as New York, Chicago, Detroit, and Toronto. Health authorities advised residents to stay indoors, three days before New Jersey's MetLife Stadium hosts the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina.

Around 858 wildfires remained active in Canada, most in the province of Ontario, according to the national wildfire information system. In the United States, poor-air-quality alerts extended across 18 states. In New York, the Emergency Management Office urged people to avoid outdoor activity, while city workers asked passersby to leave the parks. The city was bathed in an orange tone and a burning smell, and many pedestrians walked wearing masks.

The most severe conditions were recorded in the Midwest. Chicago and Detroit ranked among the cities with the worst air in the world, with indexes in the “hazardous” category, above 300 on a 500-point scale. Detroit approached 570. Milwaukee recorded its worst air quality on record, with an index of 644, more than double the previous record set in 1987. In Toronto, more than 1,700 kilometers from the Ontario fires, two hospitals reported a rise in smoke-related visits.

Forecasters at the National Weather Service estimated that the worst of the fires had passed and that the smoke should begin to clear on Friday. They warned, however, that new plumes could return over the weekend — when the final will be played — and the following week, and that the smoke could mix with rain on Saturday. The outlook introduces uncertainty over conditions at the stadium on Sunday, when global attention turns to the match.

The episode strained the already frayed relations between the United States and Canada. Several Republican lawmakers accused the neighboring country of mishandling the fires. Senator Bernie Moreno, of Ohio, said he would push legislation to penalize Canada for what he called an “atrocity.” In a letter, four Republican members of Congress said their hospitals were again treating children, older adults, and dialysis patients affected by smoke that originated far from their states, and floated taking over cross-border fire prevention from the US side.

Specialists link the growing intensity of Canada's wildfire seasons to climate change. In 2023, a similar episode drove New York's air quality to levels not seen in decades.