Smoke from large wildfires in central Canada is settling over Maryland, making skies hazy and worsening air quality, state forecasters said.

Much of Maryland is under a Code Orange alert on Thursday as a “major wave of smoke” from Ontario began to enter the area, according to a forecast by the Maryland Department of the Environment.

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Code Orange means that “sensitive groups, which includes children, the elderly, and people with respiratory or heart conditions,” should limit time outdoors, said Jay Apperson, a spokesperson for the MDE.

The alert is expected to be elevated to Code Red on Friday, meaning the air quality will be at unhealthy levels for everyone outside, said Joel Dreessen, a meteorologist at the Maryland Department of the Environment. A “bigger wave” of smoke is expected to roll in around midnight Friday.

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The triple-digit temperatures in Maryland this week are a “huge compounding factor” regarding air quality concerns, said Dreessen, though he is hopeful that storms forecast for Thursday can mitigate some of impact of the smoke.

Farther north, residents in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, as well as the Great Lakes region, experienced heavier smoke on Wednesday, which turned the sun orange and caused low visibility in the region. Those conditions are comparable to what Marylanders will experience on Friday, Dreessen said. Some people may be able to smell the smoke outdoors, he added.

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The heat index in Maryland is also expected to break triple digits on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Baltimore was placed under a Code Red extreme heat alert on Thursday, which activated cooling centers and extended pool hours.