Canada’s wild smoke gives up the American midwest in the poor air quality mist
Northwest winds blow fresh and dry air – but also forest smoke – in the American midwest in Canada
Forest fire smoke in Canada drifts through the American Midwest, leading to a misty sky and air quality alerts.
Andrew Wevers / Stringer / Getty Images
Flamboyant forest fire smoke across Canada was floating again on huge parts of the American Midwest and aggravates air quality there. On August 1, the conditions were particularly bad in Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois.
“If you take a look at the visible satellite imaging, you can even see that it’s just this kind of milky and misty configuration,” explains Melissa Dye, meteorologist at the National Weather Service Office at Minnesota. “It’s almost as if it was misty,” she said about the field conditions in Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
So far this year, Canada has seen more than 3,000 fires burn more than 22,000 square miles. Nation’s Forest Fire Center watched more than 300 fires on July 23, the latest data available. Among the provinces of Canada, Alberta has seen the most fire to date this year. By changing with the dominant weather conditions, the smoke of these fires has been pushed several times to the South on the United States, large plains in the northeast this summer.
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Learn more: How to protect yourself from smoky air
Northwest winds are currently sending this southeast smoke, directly in the Midwest in the United States, says dye. This brings the region of fresh temperatures and low humidity, but a high pressure air mass maintains local wind speeds that are too low to remove smoke.
Meteorologists expect the conditions in the Midwest to light up on August 2 and in particular on August 3, says Dye, although smoke will head east in the North of New York State and Michigan this weekend.
Forest fire smoke is one of the many sources of a type of air pollution called PM2.5fine particles in which particles have no more than 2.5 microns wide. These tiny particles are particularly dangerous because they can infiltrate deep into the lungs and beyond. Exposure to PM2.5 Pollution has been linked to respiratory problems but also cardiovascular and metabolic conditions and cancer.
You can consult your local air quality on the AirNow website of the environmental protection agency and on certain weather applications. The conditions are measured on a 500 -point scale called air quality index. On this index, small numbers represent healthier conditions and a large number represents a high risk.
Learn more: How to use the air quality index
Any AQI measure greater than 200 poses increased risks for everyone. Figures over 150 indicate a certain risk for the general public; Those of more than 50 indicate a certain risk for people sensitive to air pollution, including very young, very old and asthmatic or heart or pulmonary.
When the air quality is bad, you can protect yourself by performing air filters inside and wearing a N95 mask outside.
