WATCH: Serious air quality alerts in at least 16 states
Millions of people in the Midwest and Northeast, from Toronto and New York City to Washington, D.C., faced smoky air throughout the day Tuesday and Wednesday.
MORE: Wildfire smoke map: Which US cities, states are being impacted by Canadian wildfires
As wildfire smoke from Canada swept south, the New York skyline was barely visible for most of the day, and the smell of the smoke was strong as commuters hit the evening rush.
MORE: Smoke from Canadian wildfires could impact the health of millions in the US
Fueled by record heat and dry conditions, wildfires burning in Quebec are impacting millions of people as far south as North Carolina. In Toronto, thick smoke turned the setting sun red, and made views of the city from the CN tower almost invisible.
Air quality alerts were issued as the thick haze made breathing difficult and turned skies over much of the Northeast an orange or yellow color.
New York City
Gary Hershorn
Manhattan's skyline is barely visible before sunset as the city is enveloped in smoke from continued wildfires in Canada on June 6, 2023, New York City.
Seth Wenig/AP
A man talks on his phone as he looks through the haze at the George Washington Bridge from Englewood Cliffs, N.J., June 7, 2023. Intense Canadian wildfires are blanketing the northeastern U.S. in a dystopian haze, turning the air acrid, the sky yellowish gray and prompting warnings for vulnerable populations to stay inside.
Frank Franklin II/AP
New York Yankees' Clarke Schmidt pitches to Chicago White Sox's Tim Anderson during the first inning of a baseball game, June 6, 2023, in New York.
Alyssa Goodman/AP
A view of Brooklyn as a boat maneuvers the East River near the Manhattan Bridge, left, and Brooklyn Bridge in New York, June 7, 2023. Smoke from Canadian wildfires is pouring into the U.S. East Coast and Midwest and covering the capitals of both nations in an unhealthy haze.
Gary Hershorn
The Chrysler Building in Manhattan's skyline is barely visible before sunset as the city is enveloped in smoke from continued wildfires in Canada on June 6, 2023, New York City.
Toronto
Zou Zheng/Xinhua via Newscom
The sun is obscured by smoke from wildfires over the Toronto skyline, June 6, 2023, in Canada.
Carlos Osorio/Reuters
People take photographs of Toronto from the CN Tower as wildfires in Ontario and Quebec produce a think smoke over Ontario, Canada, June 6, 2023.
Zou Zheng/Xinhua via Newscom
The setting sun turn red as wildfire smoke shrouds Toronto, Canada, on June 6, 2023. Environment Canada issued a special air quality statement for Toronto after the smoke from forest fires in Quebec and northeastern Ontario arrived in Toronto.
Washington, D.C.
Leah Millis/Reuters
Smoke from wildfires in Canada blankets the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and the National Mall in Washington, D.C., June 7, 2023.
Julio Cortez/AP
A tourist uses a cell phone to capture images as haze blankets the Washington Monument, June 7, 2023, in Washington, D.C.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Hazy skies caused by Canadian wildfires blanket the monuments and skyline of Washington, D.C., June 7, 2023, as seen from Arlington, Va. The Washington DC area is under a Code Orange air quality alert indicating unhealthy air for some members of the general public.