Smoke drifting into the U.S. from ongoing wildfires burning in Canada was continuing to make air quality unhealthy in much of the Midwest on Wednesday, and East Coast residents are bracing for another wave of haze.
Chicagoans awoke to a clouded, gray sky, limiting visibility, irritating lungs and filling noses with a thick burning smell for the second day in a row Wednesday. The sky was smoky in Milwaukee, Indianapolis and several other metropolises. In Detroit, smoke combined with a dense fog limited visibility to below a quarter-mile early Wednesday, forcing drivers to take extra caution.
Residents on the East Coast were also under air quality alerts Wednesday. The air was unhealthy for sensitive groups in the Washington, D.C,. metro area. The quality is expected to worsen and spread more up and down the coast, into the New York City region and as far south as the Carolinas into Thursday.
Particulate levels set record highs on Tuesday for the last two decades in Buffalo; Cincinnati; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Madison, Wisconsin; and Milwaukee, the Weather Channel reported.
“As we work to respond to the immediate health concerns in our communities, this concerning episode demonstrates and underscores the harmful impact that the climate crisis is having on our residents, as well as people all over the world,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement Tuesday.
Here’s what you need to know about the air quality Wednesday:
Which US city has the worst air quality?
Three U.S. cities ranked among the top five major cities in the world with the worst air quality Wednesday morning: Detroit, Chicago and Minneapolis, according to IQ Air’s live ranking of major world cities. Washington, D.C., also made the top 10.
According to AirNow.gov, huge swaths of the Midwest had air quality in at least the red, or “unhealthy” level, including most or all of the states of Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Parts of Minnesota, Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia and New York were also in the red on a national map.
The air was “very unhealthy” − purple on the air quality index map − in parts of Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
New Yorkers should also be expecting more unhealthy air coming back their way over the next couple days, weeks after the state reached hazardous levels and residents were blanketed in an orange haze.
“There’s a potential for temporary spikes in Air Quality Index levels to reach ‘Very Unhealthy’ or ‘Hazardous,'” the New York State Department of Health said on Wednesday.
Other parts of the East Coast, including the Washington, D.C., region, New York City and stretching as far south as the Carolinas should expect air quality in at least the “unhealthy for sensitive groups” range beginning Wednesday and into Thursday, according to a national air quality forecast from AirNow.gov.
Where is the smoke coming from?
Air quality is unhealthy because of the level of particulates in the air from Canadian wildfires, which have drifted into the U.S. at various points in the last several weeks.
There were 483 active wildfires burning throughout Canada as of Tuesday, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. Of those, 253 are considered out of control. Nearly a quarter of the fires burning in Canada are in Quebec.
2023 has been a record-breaking fire season for Canada, and it’s still early. More than 29,393 square miles have burned this year, exceeding the previous record set in 1989 of 29,187 square miles, according to the National Forestry Database.
SEE IT ON A MAP:Detroit, Chicago among Midwest cities impacted by Canadian wildfire smoke
What to do if air quality is bad
Depending on the level of the air quality, people should take different levels of precaution depending on whether they have underlying conditions or are in sensitive age groups. Older people, kids and people with heart and lung issues should take greater care to avoid strenuous activity outdoors or stay inside as much as they can. When the air quality reaches an unhealthy level for everyone, it’s best for all to stay indoors.
The small particles in wildfire smoke can irritate the eyes, nose and throat and can affect the heart and lungs, making it harder to breathe.
Keep windows and doors shut to prevent smoky air from getting inside, and use air purifiers to improve indoor air quality. If you must go outside, make it brief and wear an N95 or better mask, experts say.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said masks will be made available for free throughout the state. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said it was handing out KN95 masks at transit stations Wednesday.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR PETS:Bad air quality from Canada wildfire smoke harms your pets, too. How to keep them safe.
US air quality map
How the air quality index works. What is the worst air quality?
As people seek ways to stay safe, it is important to understand how the air quality index, or AQI, works. The color-coded system measures the air quality in relation to certain pollutants and the associated health risks at various levels.
The AQI is measured on a scale of 0 to 500. The higher the AQI values, the greater the level of air pollution and health concern there is, according to AirNow.gov. “Levels of concern” in relation to air pollutants range from “good” to “hazardous.” This is based on how someone would be affected after breathing in polluted air for a few hours or days.
Each level is also assigned a corresponding color, from green, representing “good,” to maroon, representing “hazardous.”
If the AQI values are at or are below 100, air quality is generally deemed as satisfactory. However, once the AQI goes above that value, it is unhealthy. This impacts certain sensitive groups of people first, but it will affect everyone as the AQI values increase. Read more here.
− Olivia Munson, USA TODAY
Contributing: Grace Hauck, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
