The smoke erupting from the wildfires raging across northern Minnesota and western Ontario, Canada is set to blanket the swathes of Midwest, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, US from Wednesday to Friday.
The drifting smoke will turn the clear skies into hazy ones and worsen the air quality through the end of week. In the wake of threatening circumstances, Minnesota officials issued an air quality warning for areas including the Twin Cities metro area, Alexandria and Two Harbors.
The state’s north-eastern areas will be heavily affected by the smoke due to the wide spread of wildfires.
Air quality conditions were expected to deteriorate across much of Michigan, and northern Wisconsin on Wednesday. Two Harbors, the Tribal Nation of Grand Portage and other regions in northeast Minnesota could experience hazardous level quality.
Similarly, in terms of air quality, Michigan will be on high alert due to smoke pollution.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality issued an alert for Wednesday, “It is recommended that, when possible, you avoid strenuous outdoor activities, especially those with heart disease and respiratory conditions like asthma.”
“Keep windows closed overnight to prevent smoke from getting indoors and, if possible, run central air conditioning with MERV-13 or higher rated filters,” the department said.
According to NOAA’s smoke modelling, following cities are also at the risk of worsening air quality conditions on Wednesday, including
- Providence in Rhode Island
- Scranton in Pennsylvania
- Newark in New Jersey
- Buffalo, Binghamton, Poughkeepsie and New York City in New York
- Hartford, Danbury and New Haven in Connecticut
By Thursday, the smoke will adrift to Philadelphia, Baltimore, D.C. and Boston.
Among all the groups, elders, children and people with health conditions are advised to stay indoors.
