New York City is among the cities covered in smoke from Canadian wildfires. Gary Hershorn/Getty Images
Over 800 wildfires are burning across Canada, polluting multiple cities with thick smoke.
Winds carried the smoke southeast, causing air quality alerts due to unhealthy smoke levels.
Toronto, New York City, Chicago, and Minneapolis are among the cities covered in the smoky haze.
It’s not an Instagram filter. The skies really are that yellow.
Smoke from more than 800 active wildfires burning across Canada drifted hundreds of miles across North America this week, blanketing cities in a thick haze.
Across the Northeast and Midwest, including New York City, Minneapolis, and Chicago, as well as Canadian cities such as Toronto, smoke obscured skylines and prompted air quality alerts ranging from “unhealthy” to “hazardous” on Thursday.
Take a look at how the wildfire smoke is turning skies orange across the region.
A satellite image captured on Tuesday showed smoke from Canadian wildfires blowing southeast.
Smoke from wildland fires pours eastward over Canada and the U.S. in an image captured on the afternoon of July 14, 2026, by the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) on the NOAA-21 satellite. NASA Earth Observatory/Lauren Dauphin
As winds carried the smoke further on Wednesday, downtown Toronto was engulfed in yellow haze.
TOPSHOT – People walk in downtown Toronto, as smoke from forest fires in Northern Ontario causes poor air quality over the city, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, July 15, 2026. Cole Burston/AFP via Getty Images
Toronto’s skyline, including the CN Tower, was obscured by the smoke.
Wildfire smoke from northwestern Ontario fills the sky in Toronto, Canada, on July 15, 2026. Wildfires sweeping across northwestern Ontario, Canada, in recent days have caused severe smog and a sharp deterioration in air quality in several regions, including Ottawa, the nation’s capital, and Toronto, Canada’s largest city. Zou Zheng/Xinhua via Getty Images
The Canadian government issued an orange air-quality warning for Toronto, advising residents to limit time outdoors and reschedule or cancel outdoor activities.
A man wearing a face mask as orange haze from wildfire smoke causes dangerous air quality in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on July 15, 2026. An air quality warning, orange alert, was issued for the city as smoke from forest fires in northwestern Ontario caused Toronto’s air quality to be ranked the worst in the world, according to IQAir, which tracks global air quality data. Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto via Getty Images
Smoke also began to move into New York City on Wednesday.
Boats maneuver the East River near the Brooklyn Bridge as smoke from wildfires blankets the sky Thursday, July 16, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Alyssa Goodman) Alyssa Goodman/AP Photo
On Thursday, New York City issued an air-quality health advisory due to an AQI forecast of 200, the upper end of the “unhealthy” category.
Smoke from wildfires in Canada shrouds the Manhattan skyline at sunrise in Jersey City, New Jersey, US, on Thursday, July 16, 2026. Smoke from hundreds of Canadian wildfires has turned skies yellow-gray across the Great Lakes and Northeast as the jet stream pushes soot and ash across the Great Lakes and into the Northeast. Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Statue of Liberty was barely visible through the polluted air.
Smoke from wildfires in Canada shrouds the Statue of Liberty in the Brooklyn borough of New York, US, on Wednesday, July 15, 2026. Wildfire smoke from hundreds of fires burning across Canada blanketed parts of the Great Lakes, Midwest and Northeast on Wednesday, turning the sun over New York City and Toronto into a hazy, yellowish orb. Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency categorized the air in the Twin Cities as “hazardous” on Wednesday.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – JULY 15: People look on as the sun sets behind a layer of smoke on July 15, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Smoke from wildfires in Minnesota and Canada is lowering air quality and visibility in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
Dense smoke affected visibility on the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – JULY 15: People walk on the Stone Arch Bridge as dense smoke effects visibility on July 15, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Smoke from wildfires in Minnesota and Canada is lowering air quality and visibility in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
Chicago’s air quality index was rated “very unhealthy” on Thursday, with nearby suburbs experiencing “hazardous” conditions.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – JULY 16: An aerial shows smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketing the city on July 16, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. The air quality index in the city has been rated “very unhealthy” with some nearby areas rated as “hazardous.” Scott Olson/Getty Images
Aerial photos showed smoke lingering over Chicago neighborhoods.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – JULY 16: An aerial shows smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketing the city on July 16, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. The air quality index in the city has been rated “very unhealthy” with some nearby areas rated as “hazardous.” Scott Olson/Getty Images
