Over 60 million Americans across the U.S. awoke to air quality alerts Tuesday as smoke from wildfires burning across Canada continues to fill the sky, leading to potential health hazards.
“Unhealthy” air quality levels were reported across parts of the West over the weekend, and as the smoke pushed off to the east at the start of the workweek, places like Boston also began to see a haze in the sky.
Air quality alerts remain in effect across portions of the West and Midwest, including most of eastern Montana, most of eastern Nebraska and portions of northwestern Minnesota.
However, the bulk of wildfire smoke has spread to the eastern half of the U.S., which is where a majority of the air quality alerts will remain in effect through at least Tuesday night.
Millions of Americans across the Northeast and New England could see potential health hazards from the smoke.
SEE EERIE ORANGE SKIES OVER NEW YORK CITY AS CANADIAN WILDFIRE SMOKE BLANKETS NORTHEAST
Major cities across the region that are most at risk include Detroit and Chicago, but also along the Interstate 95 corridor from New Jersey to Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington.
New York City is not included in the air quality alerts. However, areas around the Big Apple are included.
To the south, air quality alerts are in effect in Nashville and the Atlanta metro.
MARS OR MANHATTAN? WILDFIRE SMOKE DRAWS COMPARISONS TO RED PLANET
The eastern half of the U.S. is where the worst air quality levels have been reported since Tuesday morning.
“Moderate” levels have seemed to dominate the skies from the Northeast to the mid-Atlantic and into the Southeast.
However, “unhealthy” air quality is being reported in New Hampshire, as well as portions of Virginia, the Carolinas and Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) ranges from 0 to 500, with smaller values indicating cleaner air and any readings above 300 being hazardous.
While cities in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic will likely see smoke from the wildfires on Tuesday, it will not be anything like what cities like New York City and Washington experienced in June when the sky turned an eerie orange color.
On June 7, thick smoke from Canadian wildfires led to the worst air quality on record for New York City.
Images taken from New York showed strange scenes that looked like a science-fiction movie with the sky an apocalyptic orange.
Millions of people were forced to stay indoors, and even Major League Baseball officials opted to postpone games.
People visiting many of the monuments in Washington, as well as national park rangers, were also seen wearing masks to protect themselves from the harmful effects of the wildfire smoke back in June.