Photos| Smoke from Canadian forest fires affects large areas of America… and a football match is cancelled

A thick cloud of SmokeThe sky of Manhattan while Chicago beach goers were prevented from entering, due to the raging forest fires in remote areas of the Canadian province of Ontario, causing deterioration in the air quality for millions of residents.

And after the spread of pictures of the city of Torontois covered in thick yellow fog, and the repercussions of the fires have spread to the American states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois, which border Canada.

According to data collected by the company "IQ Air"The cities of Detroit and Chicago topped the list of the most polluted cities in the world on Thursday evening, while New York came behind them by a small margin.

The authorities canceled a football match scheduled for Thursday evening in Chicago due to poor air quality, a few days before the 2026 World Cup final expected on Sunday in New Jersey.

The authorities warned that the air quality in the New York area would reach levels "Hazardous to health" Due to fine particles generated by Fires, and urged residents to spend as much time as possible in closed spaces.

In the year 2023, the city’s sky took on an orange color, which had a serious impact on residents, and the air quality index reached a danger level of 465 following forest fires in Canada.

This level was exceeded on Thursday in Detroit, Chicago, and Toledo in Ohio, as levels were recorded close to 700 in the afternoon, according to the agency’s monitoring tool. The American environment.