Wildfire smoke from Canada has drifted as far south as Florida

John Bacon, USA TODAY
Updated ·2 min read
3

Skies over a swath of Florida were beginning to clear Wednesday as haze dissipated from smoke that swept down thousands of miles from lingering, unrelenting wildfires that have plagued Canada for months.

The smoke had rolled over sections of the Northeast before sliding over the Atlantic around a large high-pressure system and drifting south, AccuWeather said. It curled back to the east over Florida, and Miami was shrouded in haze Tuesday.

"Hazy conditions will continue this morning, however, conditions should gradually improve as the day progresses," the National Weather Service in Miami said Wednesday.

Earlier in the week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams had warned residents of potential air quality concerns resulting from Canadian wildfire smoke. The plume reached the city Monday, causing noticeably hazy skies. The moderated Air Quality Index reading warned “there may be some risk to people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.”

Where wildfire smoke is at its worst: Here's a map of the entire US.

Canadian smoke swept across much of US this summer

In Florida, air quality was rated "unhealthy" Tuesday in areas in or near Orlando, Jacksonville, West Palm Beach, Lake Okeechobee and Venice, The Weather Channel reported. Tampa Bay, Sarasota, Ocala and Lakeland had air quality considered unhealthy for sensitive groups such as people with asthma.

Historic summer wildfires prompted evacuations across much of Canada as more than 6,000 blazes burned. Smoke from Canadian wildfires has blanketed skies in parts of the United States for days at a time.

Smoke from Canadian wildfires creates a hazy city skyline in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Oct. 3, 2023.
Smoke from Canadian wildfires creates a hazy city skyline in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Oct. 3, 2023.

Entire city forced to evacuate: Wildfires get worse; US will see smoky air again

800 fires still burning in Canada

Natural Resources Canada stopped updating its daily fire report last week. But at that time 800-plus fires were still burning, the majority of them uncontrolled. More than 44 million acres of land burned in Canadian wildfires this year. For perspective, Florida has 39 million acres of land.

"So imagine an area of land larger than Florida has burned from wildfires in Canada. Wow!!" Tampa meteorologist Dave Osterberg said Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter. "The smoke and haze is not as thick today, and hopefully will be gone later today."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wildfire smoke from Canada has now drifted as far south as Florida