Canada fires prompt US air quality alerts as smoke blankets major cities

In the United States on 17 July 2026, smoke from wildfires burning in Canada blanketed major cities and put millions of people under air quality alerts. Smoke reached New York, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto and the Washington DC area, which was under a Code Purple alert. New York was among the cities with the worst air quality in the world, and the air quality index in Detroit reached 600, according to Hindustan Times. El País reported hundreds of fires burning in Canada.

Separately, flash floods in the Texas Hill Country killed at least two people, in a region devastated a year earlier. Water rescues and evacuations took place in western and southwestern parts of the state.