In this aerial view from Air Force One, the US Capitol under hazy skies in Washington, DC, on June 28, 2023. Some 80 million people from the Midwest to the East Coast of the US are under air quality alerts due to smoke from Canadian wildfires sweeping the nation. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
Chicago recorded the worst air quality worldwide on Tuesday, weeks after smoke blanketed the East Coast. New York City was bracing for more pollution this week with air quality predicted to take a dive as smoke drifted to the Big Apple as soon as Wednesday afternoon.
Experts recommend that people stay inside and keep windows closed and limit physical activity, especially outdoors.
“Active children and adults, especially people with pulmonary or respiratory diseases such as asthma, should limit prolonged outdoor activity,” weather officials said.
The smoke has held up flights at major airports, forced postponements of Major League Baseball games and ignited a return to pandemic-era masking. Iconic landmarks, including One World Trade Center, the Statue of Liberty and the White House, have been covered with a thick haze.
Here’s a look at some of the scenes across the nation in recent weeks.
June 28, 2023: Wildfire smoke fills the air in downtown in Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago area is under an air quality alert as smoke from Canadian wildfires has covered the city for a second day in a row. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)June 27, 2023: Chicago’s skyline is seen from the 360 Chicago Observation Deck of the John Hancock Building with heavy smoke from the Canadian wildfires blanketing the city. (KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)June 27, 2023: Fans arrive prior to the game between the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field on June 27, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. A air quality alert was issued due to smoke from Canadian wildfires. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)June 7, 2023: Smoky haze from wildfires in Canada blankets a neighborhood in the Bronx borough of New York City. The city topped the list of most polluted major cities in the world on Tuesday night as smoke from the fires continued to blanket the East Coast. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)June 7, 2023: People wear masks as they wait for the tramway to Roosevelt Island as smoke from Canadian wildfires casts a haze over the area on in New York City. Air pollution alerts were issued across the U.S. due to smoke from wildfires that have been scorching Canada for weeks. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)June 7, 2023: Water flows beneath the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge as smoke from Canadian wildfires casts a haze over New York City. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)June 7, 2023: A person looks out at the New York City skyline as it’s covered with haze and smoke from Canada wildfires on Wednesday in Weehawken, New Jersey. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)June 7, 2023: Haze caused by Canadian wildfires obscures the White House in Washington D.C. on Wednesday. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)June 8, 2023: A smoke haze is seen over the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument on the National Mall in Washington, DC, as seen from Arlington, Virginia. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)June 07, 2023: Tourists walk around the base of the Washington Monument as wildfire smoke obscures the U.S. Capitol on the National Mall on in Washington D.C. on Wednesday. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)June 6, 2023: A photographer documents the haze-shrouded New York City skyline and East River on Tuesday. (Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images)June 06, 2023: Wildfire smoke that traveled south from Canada hazes the Statue of Liberty in New York City on Tuesday. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Contributing: Chicago Tribune, Dylan Bouscher of Bay Area News Group, New York Daily News
