Smoke from massive wildfires in Canada and Minnesota blanketed the Washington, DC skyline on July 17, 2026, reducing visibility and casting a colourful haze over the Lincoln Memorial.
WASHINGTON – Poor air quality persisted across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwestern states on Saturday, as smoke from hundreds of wildfires burning in Minnesota and Canada continued to spread and cover the sky. The National Weather Service (NWS) said heavy rain and storms could help clear the air in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic this weekend, while dangerous levels of air pollution will persist in the Midwest.
“As we start clearing out here in the east, they’re going to see the next batch of smoke reach Chicago from this afternoon through tonight, including upper Michigan, eastern Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana,” NWS forecaster Brian Hurley told NPR. “The haze will continue further [Sunday], unfortunately.”
Major League Baseball adjourned Friday’s game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Guardians, moving it to Saturday due to poor air quality in Cleveland.
Hurley said that after a terrifying appearance in Washington, D.C. landmarks in a thick, smoky haze, conditions in the National Capital Region are improving. Air pollution will still increase.
“But not nearly to the levels we’re seeing. We’re only talking about maybe a quarter or a third of the concentration of particles,” he said, adding that the haze will mostly disappear by Sunday.
Clear air conditions are also expected in areas north of D.C. along the East Coast, including New York City and northern New Jersey, where Sunday’s World Cup final between Argentina and Spain will be played at MetLife Stadium, an open-air venue.
more than this 900 active wildfires Fires are burning across Canada, including the provinces of Manitoba and Ontario, which border North America
President Trump threatened to impose new tariffs on the Ottawa Post in a Truth Social post on Friday. He accused Canada of failing to maintain its forests and said that dirty, polluted and unhealthy air was invading the US. Trump said he planned to call Prime Minister Mark Carney:
“This is wilful negligence and has become an annual occurrence, costing the United States billions of dollars; the cost of this pollution should be added to the tariffs Canada is currently paying,” Trump’s post read in part.
Canadian officials have said recently that both countries share responsibility in fighting climate change. Human-caused climate change has increased the risk of wildfires and intensified them.
Concerns about toxic smoke particles
Health experts are concerned about the impacts on public health.
Peter DeCarlo, a professor in the department of environmental health and engineering at Johns Hopkins University, recommends using an air purifier, such as an air purifier, to eliminate toxic airborne particles spread by smoke.
“This will reduce the amount of particles you breathe in that space,” DeCarlo said.
He added: “The age of the home and how tight the building is adjusts how much particulate from outside smoke comes in. A rough estimate is on the order of 50% for many homes in the continental US.”
DeCarlo also warned that children, pregnant women, older adults and people with pre-existing conditions are at particular risk of experiencing harmful effects from poor air quality.
“N95 masks are protective not only against COVID particles but also against pollution,” DeCarlo said. “If you want to take a walk around the block and spend some time outside, you can wear an N-95 and actually protect yourself a lot with that.”
The National Weather Service issued an air quality alert across New England on Saturday.
“A lot of these advisories or alerts will be issued by midnight. I think most areas will start to see improvement before then,” Hurley said.
However, state and federal officials in Minnesota are warning that fire conditions there remain volatile. MPR News reports that more than 600 firefighters are battling a wildfire in northeastern Minnesota under extremely hot and dry conditions. The flames have spread across more than 70,000 acres and are moving toward residential and resort areas, which officials ordered to evacuate on Saturday. Air quality levels in Minnesota have broken records recently, according to officials.
A possible threat of hurricanes, flooding and tornadoes is forecast for the Mid-Atlantic, much of Pennsylvania and other areas of the Northeast this weekend.
