Wildfire smoke is becoming more problematic in New England; major contributor to poor air quality
Hot smoke plumes rise high in the atmosphere and can travel thousands of miles. Then, if a strong surface high-pressure system is nearby, the sinking air can pull smoke to the surface and create issues, which is what the region has been dealing with to start the work week.
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The last three summers, including 2025, have delivered major smoke episodes across most of New England. Canada saw the worst wildfire season on record in 2023, with a total number of acres burned of 17.3 hectares (or nearly 43 million acres).
2024 followed up with the sixth-worst wildfire season on record, and the current season is a lock for the second-worst, with nearly 7 million hectares or 17 million acres already charred. Boston and much of New England felt the impacts of such extensive wildfire seasons.
Take a look at the annual hectares burned in Canada since tracking began in 1983.
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I connected with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and they shared the number of days when ozone and PM2.5 exceeded the threshold to issue alerts across the Bay State.
2021 and 2022 both saw six days with air quality alerts issued. But what sticks out is 2023, when the MassDEP issued air quality alerts for a record 19 days, coinciding with the historic Canadian wildfire season. Fires raging over Central and Eastern Canada, specifically the Quebec region, were responsible for the increase in poor air quality days that year. With wildfires burning much closer to home, the smoke doesn't have to rise or travel as far to reach the region.
Smoke from Canadian wildfires obscures the skyline, Saturday, July 1, 2023, in Boston.
Michael Dwyer/Associated Press
2024 saw 10 days where parts of Massachusetts were under air quality alerts, and 2025 currently sits at seven days. Numbers are similar across the other five New England states, too.
The clear rise in both frequency and intensity of smoke events reaching New England is driven mainly by more prolonged drought and heat intensity across Canada and the Western United States, each of which stems from climate change. Heat speeds up evaporation and depletes moisture from vegetation on the ground, and drought will make vegetation more vulnerable to combustion in the event of a lightning strike or a human-caused ignition.
Although New England historically has relatively clean air, the increase in the number of poor air quality days can disrupt outdoor plans and, most importantly, your health.
Air quality alerts should be taken seriously. Below is who should take caution whenever air quality rises to the threshold deemed unhealthy: people with heart or lung disease, such as asthma, older adults, children, teenagers, and people who are active outdoors.
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Ken Mahan can be reached at
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