June 7, 2023 Canada wildfire smoke and US air quality news

Major League Baseball postponed two games Wednesday due to the poor air quality across the Northeast.

The league postponed a game scheduled to take place at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia between the Detroit Tigers and the Philadelphia Phillies, as well as a game between the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees that was to be held at Yankee Stadium.

The Phillies vs. Tigers game is rescheduled for 6:05 p.m. ET Thursday, the league said. The Yankees and White Sox are now scheduled to play a traditional doubleheader game at 4:05 p.m. ET Thursday, according to the MLB.

Around 75 million people are currently under air quality alerts that are directly related to the wildfire smoke that has poured in from Canada, according to a CNN Weather analysis.

The smoke has been widespread and alerts include more than a dozen states in the Midwest, Northeast and Southeast. 

Cities such as New York, Boston, Washington, DC, Charlotte, Detroit and Indianapolis are included.

Maryland's governor is asking people to limit spending time outside as a result of poor air quality from wildfires in Canada.

Gov. Wes Moore said the state is under a red alert for air quality, meaning it is at "unhealthy levels for everyone."

People sensitive to air pollution are advised to avoid the outdoors altogether, Moore’s statement said. This includes young children, older adults, residents with respiratory problems or residents with heart conditions.

Actor Jodie Comer halted Wednesday’s matinee of the one-woman Broadway play “Prima Facie” after she had difficulty breathing due to the severe weather conditions in New York City as smoke from the Canadian wildfires engulfs the East Coast.

Byk added that Comer’s understudy Dani Arlington took her place on stage and that the matinee has started again from the top.

CNN has reached out to Comer’s representatives for comment.

Some background: Comer is best known for playing the cold-blooded assassin in the award-winning TV series, "Killing Eve." She was nominated for a Tony award for her performance in "Prima Facie," which garnered four nominations this year.

The sky over New York City turned orange Wednesday as smoke from Canadian wildfires drifted into the US.

Here are a few scenes from the city and surrounding metro area:

Washington, DC, currently has an air quality index (AQI) of 182, which is "unhealthy."

A dense plume of smoke is moving through the Northeast and is likely to impact the nation's capital beginning tonight and into Thursday morning.

Take a look at the city as the smoke haze lingers:

A total of 414 fires are still active in Canada, 239 of which are deemed out of control, according to Minister of Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair. 

Approximately 3.8 million hectares (about 9.4 million acres) of land has burned in the fires, and an estimated 20,183 people are still evacuated from homes, Blair said in a news briefing in Ottawa on Wednesday.

Critical infrastructure, such as roads, telecommunications and high-voltage power lines, are also impacted, he added.

About 6,500 of those who remain evacuated are from indigenous groups, according to Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau thanked firefighters and first responders, as well as their families, and acknowledged the impact of the wildfire smoke disrupting people's lives.

Timing of wildfires: Fire season is only beginning in Canada, and generally gets worse in July and into August.

While around a year’s worth of area has already burned in Canada so far (about 15 times more than is typical in early June) the bulk of the season is ahead. It peaks in July and typically lasts until September.

CNN's Brandon Miller contributed reporting to this post.

Te Federal Aviation Administration lifted a ground stop for flights bound for New York’s LaGuardia Airport due to smoke, but has delayed some flights on the ground. 

Flights into Philadelphia are also being impacted because of the wildfire smoke, the FAA says. It reported the average delay is about a half-hour. A similar delay to the one at LaGuardia is in place in Newark.

As of 2:45 p.m. ET, airlines in the U.S. have canceled 120 flights and delayed another 1,928, according to data from tracking site FlightAware.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the extreme wildfire smoke haze lingering over the Northeast U.S. due to Canadian wildfires could delay flights through Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C.

No, this isn't a scene out of a movie about the apocalypse. Here's what it looks like in midtown Manhattan right now as New York City's gleaming skyscrapers are obscured by smoke.