Unprecedented fires have already torched millions of acres throughout Canada during its worst-on-record wildfire season — which is long from over.
Why it matters: Smoke from the fires has so far triggered air quality alerts in hundreds of cities across North America. But with the typical peak of wildfire season still ahead, dangerous, haze-filled skylines may be a common sight this summer.
Small, low-cost sensors — about the size of a lunchbox and hung on light poles and elsewhere — are being tested in wildfire-prone communities as a potential new early warning tool.
The sensors "smell" the chemical components of a fire before it ignites, which drones, satellites and other visual surveillance safeguards cannot.
The heat wave scorching much of the U.S., along with dangerously poor air quality from wildfire smoke, is giving Americans a preview of the compound climate disasters that experts fear will become increasingly common as the planet warms.
Why it matters: Extreme heat and hazardous air quality are acute public health threats, and the heat has already proven deadly.
The big picture: Detroit, D.C., New York City and Toronto endured some of the world's worst air quality Thursday, per Swiss air technology company IQAir. Alerts stretched from Colorado to Vermont and down to Georgia. Canadian officials warn this extreme weather event will likely last all summer as climate change leads to more instances of critical fire weather.
As the oppressive hot weather that Texans have endured for weeks spreads across the U.S., Californians were preparing for their first major summer heat wave Friday.
State of play: Extreme heat was expected from central California into the desert Southwest Friday into this weekend, with excessive heat warnings issued by the National Weather Service for Californian cities including Los Angeles and San Diego.
The big picture: Heat warnings and watches are in effect for over 100 million people as a record-breaking heat wave sweeping the southern U.S. continues to expand. Meanwhile, air quality alerts have been issued for an estimated 80 million others as wildfire smoke from Canada chokes much of the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Ohio Valley and even the Southeast.
Americans aren't fully supportive of backing away from fossil fuels and are not yet sold on an all-electric vehicle future after 2035.
The big picture: Those findings are part of detailed new Pew Research Center polling. At the same time, the data shows a large majority of those surveyed favor taking steps to combat climate change and prioritizing renewable sources like solar and wind power.
Firefighters in Canada are now battling 497 active wildfires across the country after 31 new blazes ignited, according to the latest data from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
The big picture: New figures show 3,023 fires have burned across some 19.7 million acres of land during what officials this week declared has been Canada's worst wildfire season on record.
