Canadian wildfire smoke reaches US. Will Ohio have poor air quality? Search interactive map

Chad Murphy, Columbus Dispatch
·2 min read

Will it be another summer of hazy skies and air thick with the smell of smoke in Ohio? Maybe.

Smoke from wildfires in Canada is drifting into the U.S., creating unhealthy air quality in parts of Montana, Minnesota and Wisconsin, according to the fire and smoke map maintained by AirNow.gov, which monitors air quality. USA TODAY reports Minnesota officials issued an air quality advisory due to the smoke on Monday.

Smoke from those fires is drifting over Ohio, but not severely affecting the air quality, yet. Here's what to know.

Smoke from Canadian wildfires creates unhealthy air conditions across Ohio and the United States in 2023

Last June, smoke from Canadian wildfires covered New York City in an orange haze and caused Detroit, Washington D.C., and New York City to rank among the cities with the worst air quality in the world, USA TODAY reported. Wildfire smoke drifted as far as Florida.

At the time, Canada had about 220 blazes burning “out of control," according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. That year was Canada's worst for wildfires, USA TODAY reported, with 6,600 blazes burning 37 million acres, about seven times the yearly average.

Around Ohio, the smoke caused air quality alerts and hazy skies through June and July, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. It even forced high school sports teams to reschedule practices or move them indoors as school districts adapted to the unhealthy air quality, the Beacon Journal reported.

Will 2024 be a repeat of 2023's air quality and smoke?

So, will this year be as bad as 2023? USA TODAY reporter Doyle Rice writes that Canadian wildfire experts are giving mixed signals.

One — Mike Flannigan, a professor of wildland fire at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia — told USA TODAY that it's "extremely unlikely" the 2024 wildfire season will be as bad, since 2023 was a "record-smashing year." However, he said the potential for an active wildfire season is there, with an ongoing drought across Canada and a warmer-than-usual summer forecast.

Another expert — Rebecca Saari, an associate professor in the department of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Waterloo in Ontario — told USA TODAY that she sees "similar patterns to last year." She also cited the drought and summer forecast.

How is Ohio faring with wildfire smoke so far?

While AirNow.gov's Fire and Smoke Map does show some wildfire smoke drifting across the Buckeye State, it has not caused any issues.

As of Monday afternoon, most of Ohio is showing green, meaning good air quality. A few pockets of yellow, meaning moderate air quality, show up around Toledo, Columbus and Cincinnati.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Canada wildfires 2024: Will smoke reduce air quality in Ohio, U.S.?