Toxic Canada wildfire smoke prompts ground delay at Boston's Logan airport

Hundreds of wildfires burning in Canada are undermining U.S. air quality across the Upper Midwest and Northeast, making skies hazy from Detroit to New York City and even prompting a ground stop at Boston's Logan International Airport due to "low visibility."

At least 742 wildfires are currently burning in Canada, including 15 that ignited on Sunday, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. At least 201 of the blazes remain out of control, according to the centre.

As a result, at least eight states from Wisconsin to Maine were under air quality alerts as of Monday morning due to wildfire smoke.

Heavy smoke will run through that corridor on Monday, with hazy skies expected from Green Bay, through Detroit and New York City to Boston.

Flights at Logan airport were operating on a delay of 52 minutes due to low visibility on Monday afternoon, according to an advisory from the Federal Aviation Administration. Earlier on Monday, there was a brief ground stop at the airport "due to smoke and haze impacting operations," according to the FAA.

Also on Monday, Detroit was listed as having the third worst air quality among major cities in the world, according to IQAir, which tracks air quality around the globe.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has issued an air quality advisory for Monday, saying there were "elevated levels of fine particulate (PM2.5) across Michigan."

Most of the air quality alerts pertain to "sensitive groups," including people with heart or lung disease and asthma. However, air quality in parts of northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is expected to be "unhealthy" for all individuals.

The smoke wafting down in the United States is not as severe as the smoke and reduction in air quality seen from the 2023 Canadian wildfire smoke that turned the skies over some major cities, including New York City, orange. Excessive dry conditions combined with record-setting wildfire activity in Canada during the 2023 wildfire season produced dense wildfire smoke that dropped the air quality in numerous cities to "very unhealthy” and “hazardous" levels, far worse than what is expected from this week’s wildfire smoke wafting down from Canada.

The largest wildfires in Canada are burning in remote, hard-to-reach areas across Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia, according to Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. So far this year, 3,991 wildfires have broken out in Canada, burning more than 6.7 million acres, according to the centre.

"The 2023 Canadian wildfire event emphasized how important communication is when wildfire smoke may impact Michigan’s communities," Annette Switzer, EGLE’s Air Quality Division director, said in a statement. "We want to ensure residents are informed and know how to protect themselves and their families."

Air quality health advisories have also been issued across New York, where "unhealthy" air was recorded on Monday morning in the Eastern Lake Ontario and Western New York regions, according to data from AirNow.

On Long Island, the Suffolk County Department of Health Services is urging residents to be cautious when exercising outdoors.

"Fine particles can travel deeply into the respiratory tract, reaching the lungs. Exposure to fine particles can cause short-term health effects such as eye, nose, throat and lung irritation, coughing, sneezing, runny nose and shortness of breath. Exposure to fine particles can also affect lung function and worsen medical conditions such as asthma and heart disease," the agency said in a statement.

Those living under alerts should limit outside exertion and keep their windows closed, officials said. Alerts may remain in place through Tuesday with smoke still lingering.

Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich., sent a letter on Monday to Michael MacDonald, a member of the Canadian Senate and chairman of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group, urging the Canadian government to "take more active steps to manage and mitigate wildfire risk."

"These events have resulted in widespread air quality alerts, school closures, outdoor activity cancellations, and serious public health risks throughout Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula," wrote Bergman, a member of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group. "The effects on public health have been especially troubling. Hospitals and clinics across my district are seeing higher rates of respiratory distress, particularly among vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, and those with preexisting conditions."

Bergman added, "The combination of chronic exposure and limited local control over the source of the problem has left many of my constituents feeling frustrated and forgotten."

Bergman suggested in his letter that Canada should increase measures to better control wildfires by thinning forest lands and reducing fuels by conducting more prescribed burns.

"These are well-established practices that could greatly reduce the scale and intensity of wildfires and the transboundary smoke that follows," Bergman wrote. "The science and tools exist; what’s needed is the will to act with urgency."