An air quality alert is in effect for nearly the entire state through Friday, but northern and central Minnesota will bear the brunt of it, due to their proximity to Canadian wildfires.

An air quality alert due to wildfire smoke from Canada has been expanded to include the Twin Cities metro and much of northern, central and southwestern Minnesota until Friday night.

Smoke from wildfires in Manitoba, a Western province facing its worst fire season in 30 years, has created hazardous air quality conditions across Eastern Canada and the United States.