Canadian wildfire smoke will be visible today. See maps, forecast of the smoke's path
LATEST: Air quality alerts due to Canadian wildfire smoke continue Thursday in PA, NJ, DE
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The region is under air quality alerts Wednesday due to Canadian wildfire smoke.
The smoke will not be nearly as bad as it was earlier this month, but air quality will be decreased over the next few days. Smoke from the fires in Canada is blowing down toward our region.
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The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued an air quality Code Red for the entire state Wednesday. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health also said the city is under a Code Red Fine Particles Action Day.
Delaware is also in a Code Red for potential impacts of the smoke.
More smoke from the wildfires will be visible in our region today, particularly at points south of Philadelphia. The impacts will be far less than the air quality issues we saw earlier this month in the Philadelphia region.
Still, in places where the air quality is considered "unhealthy for sensitive groups," the elderly, children and people with respiratory issues such as asthma should remain inside as much as possible. The general public should be OK.
RELATED: What does an air quality "Code Red" mean? Health tips on how to protect yourself
In places where the air quality is considered "unhealthy," the general public will experience health effects.
Wednesday night, health officials advise the public to put off outdoor activities, like mowing the lawn or filling up their gas tank.
If this smoke settles in overnight, Thursday morning around 7 a.m. could be the worst time for air quality.
This is all happening as Canada is on track for its worst wildfire season in nearly 30 years, with maps showing more than 250 "out of control" blazes burning across the country. Our region has faced the most impacts from fires burning in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario - the smoke has carried on the wind and traveled hundreds of miles before coming down to surface level.
Nearly 3,000 fires since the beginning of 2023 have burned more than 19 million acres of forest in Canada.
Early Thursday, you can see the thickest smoke swirling away from our region and out to sea.
Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota air quality alerts
This round of smoke is hitting other parts of the country hard.
In Chicago, Detroit and other parts of the Midwest, the smoke led to "very unhealthy" air quality ratings Tuesday, and Chicago's air quality ratings were at one point the worst in the world. Despite the smoke and haze, the Phillies and Cubs still played their scheduled game at Wrigley Field.
In Minnesota, the Twin Cities were under an air quality alert Wednesday.
Reports from AirNow.gov Wednesday morning showed "very unhealthy" air in Chicago and Pittsburgh due to the smoke. Pittsburgh and the state of Pennsylvania were under a "code red" for Wednesday.
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