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New Jersey: Thunderstorms in the north-eastern United States are forecast to clear air choked with smoke from wildfires just in time for the World Cup final, as President Donald Trump threatened Canada with new tariffs to pay for the pollution.<\/p>\n
Nearly 1000 fires are burning across Canada, and winds have carried the smoke south of the US border, prompting air quality alerts and health warnings in parts of the United States and complaints from Trump and other US politicians about its northern neighbour.<\/p>\n
However, fires are also raging in the US with the National Interagency Fire Centre reporting 73 large blazes across 12 states, from Minnesota in the Midwest to Oregon and Washington in the Pacific Northwest.<\/p>\n
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The New York City skyline seen through wildfire smoke haze from Jersey City on Friday July 17.AP Photo\/Ryan Murphy<\/p>\n
The Canadian federal Natural Resources Department said there were 69 new fires across the country, raising the total to 955. In Ontario, Canada\u2019s most populous province, nearly 200 wildfires have already scorched 1.7 million hectares of forest, while 10 communities have been evacuated, and 300 people have been rescued from campsites in 40 operations.<\/p>\n
There are also fires in Nova Scotia, while in British Columbia thousands of lightning strikes increased the number of active fires from 20 in the middle of last week to about 100 now.<\/p>\n
On Saturday morning (AEST) Trump threatened Canada with additional tariffs to pay for the \u201cincalculable cost\u201d of dealing with wildfire smoke pollution, which he said was becoming a yearly occurrence and costing the United States billions of dollars.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein, and the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable!\u201d Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.<\/p>\n
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Neskantaga First Nation community members evacuated in response to the threat of wildfires and weather conditions arrive by plane in Thunder Bay, Ontario.Chris Young\/The Canadian Press via AP<\/p>\n
Canada is home to some of the world\u2019s largest forests, and major fires have become a regular occurrence in summer. Climate experts say rising temperatures have led to drier timber and increased fire risk, while this year\u2019s strong El Nino is sending summer temperatures skyrocketing across the northern hemisphere.<\/p>\n
Last week Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed the topic of criticism by US officials, saying that climate change was the responsibility of everyone, including the US.<\/p>\n
After Trump\u2019s post, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said US criticism of Canadian efforts to stop the fires was \u201cabsolutely unacceptable.\u201d If Trump wanted Canada to clear its forests, he should drop US tariffs on softwood lumber, Ford said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to get through this,\u201d Ford said. If the situation were reversed and the US were facing wildfires, \u201cwe\u2019re going to be down there to support our neighbours\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n
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The sun sets through wildfire smoke over Edmonton, Alberta on July 17.AP Photo\/Andy Bao<\/p>\n
Trump then reposted Tim Sheehy, the junior senator from Montana, saying that the \u201csend help\u201d message was \u201cextremely dishonest framing\u201d by the Canadians. Trump\u2019s repost came with an endorsement that Sheehy was \u201cGREAT. A Winner!!!\u201d .<\/p>\n
Sheehy, who said he was a former waterbomber pilot who used to lead an aerial firefighting fleet, said: \u201cThe Canadian government routinely blocks US firefighting companies from attacking fires in Canada, while aggressively sending their government-subsidised aircraft to the US to earn commercial rates from the US government. It\u2019s big business for them and they run it like a Chinese protectionist racket.\u201d<\/p>\n
At MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, site of the World Cup final at 3pm Sunday (5am Monday AEST), which Trump is expected to attend, the sky was the same thick, soupy grey it has been for days, even after a drenching thunderstorm prompted warnings of flash flooding and forced the Spanish national team to suspend its last outdoor training session.<\/p>\n
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Normally the New York metropolitan area skyline is easily visible from the Statue of Liberty, but not right now.AP<\/p>\n
Tyler Roys, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, said a storm front the day before the match will largely move the smoke out of the Northeast before the final between Spain and Argentina.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere could be some lingering smoke that would make things hazy, but very faint,\u201d Roys said. \u201cIn terms of the thickest smoke, the smoke that has really been eye-popping and leads to poor air quality, that is not expected across New York City or much of the Northeast.\u201d<\/p>\n
WFLA-TV Chief Meteorologist and Climate Specialist Jeff Berardelli, in Tampa, Florida, said the storm front would \u201csweep the atmosphere clean,\u201d leaving only a thin smoke that World Cup spectators may still smell in the air.<\/p>\n
Related Article Temperatures are forecast to be around 27 degrees, with light breezes and low humidity for the start of the final. \u201cYou couldn\u2019t have asked for much better weather for the World Cup,\u201d Berardelli said.<\/p>\n Brian Hurley, a senior branch forecaster for the US Weather Prediction Centre, said air quality concerns for the World Cup game should be \u201cmuch better, but not fully gone\u201d, while the smog would remain \u201creally pretty poor\u201d in the upper Midwest.<\/p>\n Bloomberg, AP, Reuters<\/p>\n Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what\u2019s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Parisians](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/7e4a291ac55dffbed225aa9037c5f2431e282962.jpeg\")
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