The most polluted air in the world today is in three major US cities – where readings are multiple times worse than the notoriously noxious Delhi, India – due to raging wildfires in Canada.
Air pollution in Detroit, Michigan, was the worst in the world Thursday, with a score of 724 on the live global air quality index (AQI), according to IQAir – which shows that the atmosphere becomes “hazardous” starting at 301.
Toronto, Canada, saw the second-highest pollution levels, with a score of 271 – which falls within the “very unhealthy” category between 201 and 300.
The third- and fourth-most polluted air was found in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Chicago, Illinois, where the scores were 257 and 250, respectively.
Delhi – which traditionally tops annual pollution reports – had a score of 150, within the “unhealthy for sensitive groups” range, ranking it sixth on Thursday, according to the list.
More than 100 wildfires are still burning in Canada and northern Minnesota, with parts of the Midwest having experienced hazardous air quality, according to USA Today.
Businesses and attractions shuttered and events were moved indoors across Motor City after residents awoke to hazy skies, odors of burnt wood and an AQI score that topped 800 at one point Thursday morning, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Parts of the North Star State, meanwhile, saw record-breaking smoke concentration levels that hadn’t been experienced since 2014, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.
By Wednesday afternoon, the AQI reached a whopping 1008 in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula bordering Lake Superior, local news meteorologist Brian Niznansky wrote on X.
As the wildfires continue to surge, officials from the Midwest all the way to New York City are urging residents to stay inside.
“Every New Yorker should take precautions. Limit your time outdoors, especially strenuous activity,” Big Apple Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Thursday.
The same advice should go for people’s beloved pets, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.
“As irritating as smoke can be to people, it can cause health problems for animals as well…If you can see or feel the effects of smoke yourself, you also should take precautions to keep your animals — both pets and livestock — safe,” the association said.
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