Smoky haze blanketing US and Canada could last into weekend

“Since the fires are raging – they’re really large – they’re probably going to continue for weeks. But it’s really just going to be all about the wind shift.”

A person cycles past the skyline in Philadelphia shrouded in haze (Matt Rourke/AP)

A thick, hazardous haze that is disrupting daily life for millions of people across the US and Canada, blotting out skylines and turning skies orange, could last into the weekend.

With weather systems expected to barely budge, the smoky blanket billowing from wildfires in Quebec and Nova Scotia and sending plumes of fine particulate matter as far away as North Carolina and northern Europe should persist into Thursday and possibly the weekend.