{"id":217584,"date":"2026-07-18T22:54:04","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T22:54:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/where-americans-can-expect-to-see-air-health-impacts-from-wildfires-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-07-18T22:54:04","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T22:54:04","slug":"where-americans-can-expect-to-see-air-health-impacts-from-wildfires-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/where-americans-can-expect-to-see-air-health-impacts-from-wildfires-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Americans can expect to see air, health impacts from wildfires – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hot summer days are getting stuffier for more than 100 million people in the U.S.<\/a> as wildfire smoke drifts south and imposes dangerous risks to their health.
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Hundreds of wildfires burning in Canada<\/a> have created a thick wave of smoke that\u2019s shrouding swaths of the U.S. from Milwaukee to Washington, D.C., in unhealthy air.
More than 800 wildfires are actively burning across Canada<\/a>, with large clusters in Ontario near the border with Minnesota. A heat wave across North America<\/a> is trapping the unhealthy air and carrying it south.
With smoky air comes certain health risks. The Environmental Protection Agency uses a measure called the Air Quality Index to assess how polluted the air is. Scores of 100 or more (out of 500) mean the air is unhealthy and could harm people\u2019s health.
Some U.S. cities \u2014 including Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Washington \u2014 had ratings of more than 200 and led the world in rankings for worst air quality on Friday, according to data from air pollution monitoring company IQAir.<\/a> Parts of Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin had AQI ratings in the 300s on Friday afternoon \u2014 levels high enough that experts advise avoiding outdoor activities.
In response, public health officials have issued air quality advisories and suspended some government operations. New York launched emergency operations Wednesday<\/a>, offering free KN95 masks and opening shelter space. Due to deteriorating air quality, Philadelphia<\/a> city officials suspended trash pickup and closed public pools Friday.
High levels of particle-laden air can exacerbate health concerns for those considered sensitive, including children, pregnant individuals, older adults and those with asthma or heart conditions. Higher levels are dangerous for any who breathe it, and people should be extra careful with wildfire smoke, said Suzanne Paulson, director of the Center for Clean Air at the University of California, Los Angeles.
\u201cNo particles are good to breathe, but wildfire particles seem to be more toxic than regular urban particles themselves,\u201d Paulson told NBC News. \u201cWhatever the [AQI] color is, consider that it\u2019s the next color up if there\u2019s a lot of wildfire smoke.\u201d
Wildfire smoke consists of microscopic particulate matter, ash and trace minerals that, combined with water vapor, create the haze effect. Small particulate matter, called PM2.5, is the most dangerous because it can be deeply inhaled, penetrating the lungs and even entering the bloodstream. PM2.5 particles are smaller than a grain of sand and 30 times smaller than the width of a hair strand, said Serap Erdal, a professor at the University of Illinois, Chicago, and the project leader of Open Air Chicago<\/a>, a citywide network of air sensors.
The best way to protect yourself is to stay indoors and avoid physical activity outside in areas with exceptionally high air quality indexes, experts say. Keeping children indoors limits their exposure to the pollutants and can reduce their level of activity, which decreases the amount of particles they breathe in, Paulson said.
Using an air purifier or setting your air conditioning on recirculate can also help recycle the air and clear out toxins, Erdal said. \u201cJust because we\u2019re indoors doesn\u2019t mean we\u2019re not inhaling outdoor air.\u201d
When outside, wearing high-quality particle masks like N95 or KN95<\/a> can reduce exposure. A regular surgical mask can provide a slight barrier but will not filter out small particles, Erdal said.
\u201cAlthough healthy people may recover quickly from wildfire smoke, many people can experience short-term, mid-term and long-term effects,\u201d Erdal said. \u201cIt\u2019s important that people take measures to protect themselves.\u201d
Ashley Mowreader is a data graphics intern for NBC News.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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news AlertsThere are no new alerts at this timeHot summer days are getting stuffier for more than 100 million people in the U.S. as wildfire smoke drifts south and imposes dangerous risks to their health.Subscribe to read this story ad-freeGet unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Hundreds of wildfires burning in Canada have created […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":217585,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-217584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217584\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/217585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}