Smoke from Canadian wildfires is causing air quality concerns for millions of Americans in the Midwest and Northeast.  Air quality alerts were in effect Tuesday in several states, including Michigan and New York.

A thin veil of smoke from wildfires burning in Canada is worsening air quality and putting a lid on temperatures in the D.C. area. The smoke, which has resulted in some of the world’s worst air quality in the Upper Midwest and Northeast, is only wafting through the Mid-Atlantic in limited quantities, but it’s enough to have a small impact.

Each New England state has seen an uptick in the number of days over the last five years when fine particulate matter (PM2.5) or ozone exceeds air quality standards that are considered “unhealthy for sensitive groups.

The wildfire is the largest in France this year and has burned some 12,000 hectares of land, an area larger than Paris.

Authorities say France’s biggest wildfire this summer is spreading quickly in a Mediterranean region near the Spanish border after leaving one person dead.