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Dangerous wildfire smoke continues with air quality alerts in at least 17 states

An ABC News graphic shows the forecast for Thursday, July 16, 2026. (ABC News)

(NEW YORK) — Air quality alerts are in place on Thursday across at least 17 states, from Minnesota to New Hampshire to Virginia, as dangerous smoke drifts into the U.S. from Canadian wildfires.

Smoke from the more than 180 wildfires burning in Canada is traveling more than a thousand miles to reach places like New York City. At least another nine large fires are burning in northern Minnesota.

Detroit, Michigan, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, have the worst air quality in the world among major cities, with extremely hazardous air quality. 

Detroit reaching an air quality index, or AQI, around an astronomical 600 on Thursday morning. The most dangerous level, “hazardous,” begins at an AQI of 300 plus. 

This extreme smoke is expected to continue east and continue through the Northeast.

New York City could see orange skies on Thursday, as plumes of hazardous smoke make their far enough to be dense.

By Friday morning, the smoke is expected to push farther south, affecting areas through Ohio and Virginia, including D.C. and Baltimore, through the day on Friday. 

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Danish high schoolers will have to verbally defend written assignments, in government move to combat AI cheating

By CNN
(CNN) — High school students in Denmark will be required to verbally defend their written assignments as part of emergency government measures aimed at combating AI cheating.A verbal defense will be needed for all exams written at home, Denmark’s Ministry of Education announced in a statement Thursday, adding that it will work with schools to create the best framework for this.The rule, which comes into force immediately, applies to students in upper secondary education, which typically begins around age 16. It will include the approximately 9,000 students enrolled in the country’s two-year Higher Preparatory Examination program, who have to submit major written assignments each year, according to the ministry.The ministry is also calling on high schools to use tools to monitor students’ screens during exams, as well as a firewall to filter the content they can access during exams and in class.In addition, it is encouraging schools to get students to complete more assignments in school, under controlled environments, to make supervision easier.“Unfortunately, we have a problem with students using AI to cheat in upper secondary school,” Education Minister Magnus Heunicke said in the statement. “Action is needed now, and we are starting with these three initiatives.”“In the coming period, I will be engaging with schools, teachers and students about what can be done both in the short and longer term to ensure that AI does not undermine students’ skills, academic abilities and, not least, their ability to think for themselves,” he continued.‘Important first step’Three upper secondary school organisations — representing school leaders, teachers and students — welcomed the moves but called for more long-term solutions due to the “rapid pace of technological development,” the high schools association, Danske Gymnasier, said in a statement Thursday.Anders Frikke, chair of the Danish Association of Upper Secondary School Teachers (GL), said teachers “appreciate” that the education minister “has acted both swiftly and decisively. However, we also have additional proposals that we hope the Minister will consider.”“These include requiring students to clearly declare when AI has been used in major written assignments and ensuring that preparation for oral examinations takes place without access to AI,” he added.While students also “welcome” the emergency initiatives, “it is important that the increased amount of written work carried out at school is organised in a way that genuinely strengthens students’ learning, rather than simply moving the work from home to school,” Oscar Tønsberg Hoffmann, chair of the Danish Upper Secondary Students’ Association (DGS), said in the statement.He added that it is “essential that students have the opportunity to contribute to the development of longer-term solutions.”The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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