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AccuWeather long-range forecasters say the 2024 wildfire season is expected to start in June and peak in September.
Wildfires in Canada broke records last year, with 45.7 million acres of land burned.
AccuWeather's lead long-range forecaster, Paul Pastelok, predicts a near-to-above-historical average number of fires in Canada this year, but he expects fewer fires to burn than last year.
Smoke from Canadian wildfires last June caused some of the worst air quality levels in the Northeast in the past 20 years.
According to Dr. Boris Quennehen of Plume Labs, being in New York City during days of poor air quality caused by the wildfires was equivalent to smoking five-to-10 cigarettes per day in terms of the level of hazards one was exposed to.
“Denver was impacted by smoke from the Canadian wildfires last year," Quennehen said. "Two weeks later, that smoke had reached the Northeast. Smoke is made up of gases and particles, the same pollutants that are responsible for poor air quality.”
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