Millions of Children Across 13 States Told To Limit Outdoor Activity
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Air quality alerts spanned at least 13 U.S. states on Tuesday, with sensitive groups urged to limit outdoor activity to avoid health risks.
Why It Matters
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, studies have linked particle pollution exposure to various health effects, including respiratory symptoms—such as coughing and wheezing, the development of asthma and increased susceptibility to respiratory infections.
Authorities advise that during periods of poor air quality, sensitive groups—including children, older adults and those with certain preexisting conditions—should limit prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion.
What To Know
In collaboration with local agencies, the National Weather Service (NWS) published air quality alerts for the following states as of Tuesday morning:
California
Colorado
Texas
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Michigan
Indiana
Ohio
Pennsylvania
New York
Connecticut
Vermont
New Hampshire
Alerts spanned the entirety of Michigan and Wisconsin because of smoke from Canadian wildfires.
"The main culprit remains Canadian wildfire smoke, originating from the Manitoba and Ontario Provinces. The second culprit is a stubborn high-pressure cell planted over the Midwest which is holding the smoke in place and compressing it close to the ground," said a notice from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, which the NWS published.
"The weak clockwise winds will recirculate the worst of the smoke westward then northward, back into the western U.P., but the entire state will remain under hazy conditions during Tuesday," it continued.
Northeast Minnesota and eastern Pennsylvania were also affected by wildfire smoke, according to alerts for the regions.
Particle pollution—a product of wildfires—was also the cause of air quality alerts in Indiana, Vermont, New Hampshire and Colorado.
Wildfire smoke from Canada will be on the increase over the next 24 hours. This is a model depiction of smoke in the atmosphere. Orange colors indicate thicker smoke, representing more hazy skies. #mewx #nhwx pic.twitter.com/EbBv0qnGyz — NWS Gray (@NWSGray) August 2, 2025
In California, the South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a wildfire smoke advisory as multiple blazes burn in both central and Southern California.
This included the 72,460-acre Gifford fire affecting parts of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties, as well as the Rosa fire near the Santa Rosa Mountains and the Gold fire in the San Bernadino National Forest, north of Big Bear Lake.
Here's a projection for the smoke from the #GiffordFire 🔥in San Luis Obispo/Santa Barbara Counties through tomorrow night. Smoke will generally move towards the south and east. pic.twitter.com/fzb05X833b — NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) August 4, 2025
Meanwhile, air quality alerts were in place in Texas and Ohio because of ozone pollution.
In Ohio, this affected Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage and Summit Counties. In Texas, alerts applied to both the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston-Galveston areas.
What People Are Saying
AccuWeather meteorologist Dan Pydynowski told Newsweek on Friday: "Smoke and haze creating poor air quality at times will likely continue to be an issue in [the Great Lakes, Upper Midwest and central U.S.] through the weekend and into early next week.
"The smoke/haze will gradually spread south and east later this weekend into early next week as well, perhaps getting into parts of the Northeast U.S. and the central-southern Plains too."
The National Weather Service account for Burlington, Vermont, wrote on X on Thursday: "Air Quality Alerts continue for New York and Vermont. Some cleaner air is mixing in from the north compared to recent days, but some smoke will remain with higher concentrations expected in southern portions of the region."
What Happens Next
The NWS regularly issued forecast updates on its website.
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