Chicago’s air quality reaches worst in world from Canadian wildfires as NYC expects to be hit again

The Midwest experienced significant air quality issues on Tuesday due to continued smoke originating from the Canadian wildfires, causing Chicago to record the worst air quality in the world, according to IQAir.com.

Detroit ranked second worst on the list, as roughly 92 million people across the U.S. were under air quality alerts, reports NBC News.

Chicago’s air quality hovered around 200 AQI (out of 500), which was still significantly lower than the 484 AQI that New York City recorded earlier this month when it was, itself, ranked the worst in the world, hitting levels not seen since the 1960s.

As Canada continues to have its most intense fire season on record, with over 19 million acres already burned, experts are saying that New York will again have its air quality severely impacted.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul shared a statement Tuesday warning residents to take precautions in the coming days and prepare for “smoke and the haze to come all across the state.”

Even with experts paying close attention to the developing situation, there’s still some discrepancy in how exactly the smoke will move.

According to the BlueSky Canada system, which utilizes a combination of fire information and weather modeling, the smoke will move from Quebec and reach New York and Boston by approximately 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

However, another prediction from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, claims the smoke will arrive later on Wednesday and cover other cities like Pittsburgh and Raleigh, N.C.

It’s important to note that both models are experimental, and the situation will continue to evolve overnight, as smoke patterns are known to be difficult to forecast.