According to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System, the vast majority of wildfires are burning out of control.

The large cluster of fires affecting northwestern areas of Ontario are responsible for sending thick plumes of smoke and poor air quality across Thunder Bay and Toronto, with lower concentrations of smoke high in the atmosphere drifting over the Great Lakes and above New York with hazy skies and redder sunrise and sunsets likely.

In western regions of New York state, the air quality on Thursday is considered “very unhealthy”, the second highest ranking below “hazardous”, while in the New York City metro area, the air quality is “unhealthy”.

On Wednesday, New York extended its heat emergency plans and activated its air quality emergency protocols – with hundreds of cooling centers and KN95 masks being made available citywide.

In Ontario, there will be quite widespread thunderstorms over the next few days, but the rain may not be enough to make much of a difference.

Northwesterly winds will continue to blow the smoke into northern US states for the rest of this week and into the weekend, leading to concerns smoke will drift into New Jersey where Sunday’s World Cup final is due to take place.

A change in the wind direction by Monday means that the smoke will tend to be steered across Quebec with an improvement in air quality further south in the US.