Wildfires in the eastern Canadian province of Nova Scotia continue to spread as its smoke spreads across the border in the US New England region.
As of Monday, over 16,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes near Nova Scotia's capital, Halifax.
In a recent tweet, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau called the fires in Nova Scotia "incredibly serious," saying the government is on standby to offer assistance if needed.
Halifax fire deputy chief Dave Meldrum said the wildfire, which began on Sunday, continues to burn out of control.
Canada warming up
Canada has been experiencing above-average temperatures so far in 2023, with an increase of at least 3 to 5 degrees.
Temperatures in Ontario this week were expected to reach or exceed 30 degrees Celsius (86 F). Canada is also dealing with wildfires in its western province of British Columbia.
Smoke from Nova Scotia fires reaches New England
While smoke from Canadian wildfires is normal, smoke from historical wildfires came from the northwest.
The clockwise flow around a high-pressure zone over New England and Southern Quebec directed the smoke coming from Nova Scotia to the south and west and is being enhanced by a low-pressure system off the southern portion of the US eastern seaboard.
Weather forecast models project a thick plume of smoke from the fires and some of its acrid smell to arrive in southern New England Tuesday. However, the smoke was not forecast to affect air quality.
In particular, Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT-DEEP) warned the state's residents of potentially poor air quality, which could affect people who are sensitive to particle pollution.
The department said levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) were expected to exceed Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups levels for at least four hours on Tuesday afternoon.
