The wishful thinking of ‘climate havens’: Canada’s wildfire smoke is debunking myths about the Midwest

As hundreds of wildfires burn in Canada, smoke is drifting across the United States, worsening the air quality in cities from Detroit to New York. It’s a stark example of how climate change is affecting us all, even if we live far from where fire, floods, and other disasters are most common—and yet another rebuke of the idea that there are any true “climate havens.” An aerial view of the Detroit skyline as smoke from the Canadian wildfires settles in the city on July 16, 2026 in Detroit,…