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Millions of Americans from the Northeast to the Midwest were under air quality alerts on Thursday, as smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to fill the skies.
The haze — which contains particulate matter that poses both short- and long-term health risks — has disrupted air travel, sporting events and all sorts of outdoor activities.
Officials are warning people, especially children, the elderly and those with heart and respiratory conditions, to take precautions and stay inside until the smoke clears, which could take days.
„There’s nothing you can do about the processes of the atmosphere,“ says William Vizuete, a professor in the department of of environmental sciences and engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. „But we need to understand those processes so we can eventually understand what we’re exposed to when we’re exposed to those [particles].“
Forecasters expect hard-hit areas in New England and the Mid-Atlantic to see some relief on Friday, but shifting wind patterns could mean worsening air quality for people across vast stretches of the Midwest and South.
„As a nearly stationary upper-low churns off the New England coastline, sustained northerly winds will allow the smoke to spread southward, with major metro areas such as Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. expected to experience unhealthy air quality levels for all age groups through Thursday, before winds shift more easterly, pushing smoke further west into the interior Northeast and Ohio Valley on Friday,“ says the National Weather Service.
Here’s what to know about the ongoing blazes and what they could mean for the air quality in your area.As fires rage, smoke lingers
Experts say air quality in the U.S. will improve when the fires stop or the weather patterns change.
And while there are efforts to contain the blazes in Canada, that may take some time.
