Over a Million Americans Told to Combine Errands as Alert Hits 9 States

Air quality alerts had been issued for nine states as of Sunday morning, with residents in some areas advised to combine errands in order to help reduce pollution levels.

Why It Matters

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), studies have linked particle pollution exposure to various health effects, including respiratory symptoms—such as coughing and wheezing, the development of asthma and increased susceptibility to respiratory infections.

What To Know

In collaboration with local agencies, the National Weather Service (NWS) had published air quality alerts for the following states as of Sunday:

Minnesota
Wisconsin
Michigan
Illinois
Indiana
New York
Vermont
Maine
New Hampshire

These were issued due to potentially hazardous levels of fine particulate pollution triggered by wildfire smoke flowing into the U.S. from neighboring Canada.

In Indiana, advisories affecting over a million residents across numerous counties, including but not limited to Lake, Porter, and Elkheart, advised locals to take steps to help reduce pollution such as avoiding the use of drive-thru lanes and combining errands into one trip.

Authorities also suggested limiting vehicle use by walking, biking, or using public transportation if possible.

Air quality alerts had been in effect for parts of the U.S. for multiple days due to Canadian wildfire smoke. In a social media post on Friday, AccuWeather reported that the smoke resulted in Chicago having “the worst air quality in the world for several hours and blanketing the skyline in haze”

What People Are Saying

AccuWeather meteorologist Dan Pydynowski told Newsweek on Friday: “Smoke and haze creating poor air quality at times will likely continue to be an issue in [the Great Lakes, Upper Midwest and central U.S.] through the weekend and into early next week.

“The smoke/haze will gradually spread south and east later this weekend into early next week as well, perhaps getting into parts of the Northeast U.S. and the central-southern Plains too.”

NWS Burlington, Vermont, said on X, formerly Twitter, Saturday: “If you’ve noticed it becoming hazier this afternoon, you’re not mistaken. Canadian wildfire smoke is again entering the region and it is expected to linger for a couple days. Air Quality Alerts have been issued area-wide for tomorrow.”

The National Weather Service said in a post on X, Friday: “The view from our GOES East satellite at sunrise revealed widespread wildfire smoke that is resulting in large areas of unhealthy air quality, and Air Quality Alerts for at least portions of eight U.S. states. Take precautions.”