North American Wildfires Continue to Spread, Cross-Border Pollution Impact Escalates

Canadian wildfires entered a period of high incidence in June, with Manitoba and Saskatchewan having burned more than 12,000 square kilometers, causing PM2.5 concentrations in the Midwestern U.S. On June 23, Minneapolis’ Air Quality Index (AQI) reached 210 (“very unhealthy”), and hospital respiratory visits surged by 35%. On June 23, the Minneapolis AQI reached 210 (“very unhealthy”) and hospital respiratory illnesses spiked 35 percent. Notably, the smog has crossed the North Atlantic to Europe, with aerosol particles from North America being detected in Greece, Italy, and other southern European countries on June 22, falling short of health-hazard thresholds but sparking new research into the mechanisms of long-range pollution transport. The Canadian military is urgently evacuating First Nations communities in northern Ontario, and as of June 25, more than 17,000 people had been evacuated from hazardous areas.