Canadian wildfire smoke smothers skies from Midwest to Northeast as air quality plummets for millions

Air Quality Alerts remain in effect from Midwest to Northeast due to Canadian wildfire smoke

The air quality from the Midwest to the Northeast has started to improve, but smoke from wildfires burning in Canada continues to billow into the U.S and Air Quality Alerts remain in effect. FOX Weather Meteorologists Craig Herrera and Haley Meier have the latest on Aug. 5, 2025. 

MILWAUKEE – Air quality remains a concern from the Midwest to the Northeast and New England as wildfire smoke from Canada smothers the sky across the eastern half of the U.S.

"We've seen days and days of hazy skies across Milwaukee, and that just happened to overlap for the first week of the state fair," FOX Weather Meteorologist Craig Herrera said.

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"It's a tradition for us to go every year on the first day, but it wasn't happening," one fairgoer said about the hazy sky.

The thick plumes of smoke in Canada are being driven southward into the U.S. by northerly winds on the backside of an area of high pressure.

Watch: Canadian wildfire smoke smothers sky above New York City

A video recorded from an airplane shows how hazy the sky was above New York City as thick plumes of Canadian wildfire smoke drifted into the U.S. on Aug. 4, 2025.

The FOX Forecast Center said the wildfire smoke has settled closer to the surface, resulting in widespread reductions in air quality.

"You should limit your outdoor activities, and professionals say maybe wear an N95 mask to protect yourself from some of the wildfire smoke in the sky," Herrera continued.

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The highest concentrations of Canadian wildfire smoke have been located in Wisconsin, including Milwaukee, and Michigan, with air quality index values ranging from Unhealthy to Very Unhealthy across the region on Monday.

Watch: Canadian wildfire smoke leads to hazy sky in Boston area

A video shared from Cambridge, Massachusetts, shows hazy skies due to Canadian wildfire smoke drifting into the U.S.

That smoke then moved into areas of the Northeast and New England, with cities along the heavily traveled Interstate 95 corridor like New York City, Philadelphia and Boston put on alert for unhealthy air quality levels.

Watch: Milwaukee sky filled with Canadian wildfire smoke

A video shared by FOX 6 Milwaukee shows a hazy sky on Friday, Aug. 1, due to wildfire smoke drifting into the U.S. from Canada.

In fact, about 81 million people from the Upper Midwest to northern New England are under an air quality alert.

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The entire states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Vermont and New Hampshire, as well as most of New York and Connecticut and eastern Pennsylvania are under an Air Quality Alert.