©firesmoke.ca

Millions of people across the Upper Midwest and the Northeast are under air quality alerts Monday, as smoke from wildfires in Canada drift over the region. Hazy skies are expected in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, northern Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Delaware and Maine, according to the National Weather Service. Almost 200 wildfires are burning out of control in Canada, including 81 in Saskatchewan, 159 in Manitoba and 61 in Ontario. Figures from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center indicate that more than 16.5 million acres have been scorched so far this year in what will likely be the country’s second-worst wildfire season on record. A high-pressure system parked over the Midwest is trapping the smoke in place, causing air quality issues to linger for several days… In the West, several wildfires are causing separate air quality issues in the region.