Air quality alert continues in western, central Minnesota due to ozone
The Brief
An air quality alert issued for western and central Minnesota on Monday has been extended into Tuesday for the majority of the state due to ground-level ozone expected to reach high levels.
Meanwhile, several wildfires continue to burn with authorities working to control them in northeastern Minnesota.
People with asthma or other breathing conditions, children and teens are more likely to be affected by the high ozone levels.
(FOX 9) - An air quality alert has been extended through Tuesday for the majority of Minnesota due to expected high ozone levels.
What we know
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) issued an air quality alert for central and western Minnesota starting at noon Tuesday until 9 p.m.
Here's a list of the affected areas:
Twin Cities metro area
Brainerd
Alexandria
Albert Lea
Marshall
Worthington
St. Cloud
Ortonville
Mankato
Bemidji
East Grand Forks
Moorhead
International Falls
Roseau
Tribal Nations of Upper Sioux, Mille Lacs, Prairie Island, Leech Lake and Red Lake
The MPCA says ground-level ozone is expected to be high, with sunny weather, warm temperatures and low humidity playing factors in the expected high ozone levels.
Dig deeper
People who will be affected the most are those with asthma, COPD, chronic bronchitis, emphysema and other breathing conditions, MPCA says.
Children and teens could also be affected. People doing heavy or extended physical activity outdoors will also be affected.
MPCA says some people have a sensitivity to ozone, even without risk factors.
People at risk can experience difficulty breathing deeply, shortness of breath, sore throat, wheezing, coughing or usual fatigue when exposed to high levels of ozone.
Go to the MPCA's website to keep up-to-date on the air quality in your area.
The Camp House wildfire started around 1 p.m. on Sunday in Ault Township, about two miles northeast of Brimson, Minnesota.The fire grew to around 750 acres in size Sunday night, with officials saying Monday it had impacted 1,250 acres and is 0% contained.
There are 56 personnel working on the fire, according to the Minnesota Incident Command System website.
Authorities say the fire has destroyed at least three homes and at least 50 homes and cabins have been evacuated. Some staff members at a nearby camp have also been evacuated.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Yahoo
Minnesota weather: Breezy and cooler temperatures to start off this week
The Brief A western breeze picks up today with a few scattered showers expected up north. Monday is shaping up to be the coolest day of this forecast with a northwest breeze and a few stray showers/sprinkles. Pleasant and warmer for Tuesday and Wednesday. MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A cool and breezy start to this week with dry and warm conditions Tuesday and Wednesday in Minnesota. What to expect Temperatures will stay in the 60s for most of the state Sunday and Monday with only a select few reaching the 70 degree mark Sunday. Showers look likely up north throughout the day with the rest of the state dealing with a breeze. Smoke from wildfires in Canada is back in the area Sunday, leading to air quality alerts for the whole state. The haze will likely stick around through Monday. Temperatures stay cool with a northwest breeze for Monday. Watch for a few showers in western Wisconsin and a few north of Interstate 94 as well. What's next Pleasant, sunny, and warmer temperatures are back for Tuesday and Wednesday. Both days look to feature high temperatures reaching close to or even above 80 degrees. A warm front approaches Wednesday night and sets up a frontal boundary for the rest of the work week in southern Minnesota. This will lead to a few chances of showers and thunderstorms from Wednesday night through Friday. Here is your seven-day forecast:
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Air quality alert issued for all of Minnesota due to wildfire smoke from Canada
The Brief The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has issued an air quality alert for all of Minnesota due to wildfire smoke from Canada. The alert takes effect at 11 p.m. Saturday and goes until 11 p.m. on Sunday. The air quality index is in the orange category, which means the air will be unhealthy for sensitive groups. (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has issued an air quality alert for all of Minnesota due to the continuing wildfires in Canada. What they're saying MPCA issued an air quality alert as heavy surface wildfire smoke from Canada is expected to follow a cold front into Minnesota, affecting the whole state. The alert will be in place from 11 p.m. Saturday until 11 p.m. Sunday. MPCA says the smoke is expected to move across the state from west to east late Saturday night, then clear out west to east by Sunday afternoon or evening. The air quality index is expected to reach the orange category, which is unhealthy for sensitive groups. What to expect Minnesotans can expect to see a hazy sky, and smell smoke in the air, MPCA says. For sensitive groups, like people with asthma, COPD, heart disease, children, older adults and pregnant people, being outside during the alert could impact their health. What you can do MPCA says to reduce activities that contribute to poor air quality, like fires, reducing vehicle trips and vehicle idling as much as possible. To keep up to date on current air quality conditions, click here. The Source A press release from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA).
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
After October 7, 2023: Israel's smoking rates rise, worsening COPD risks
Smoking rates are growing among young Israelis, said Fridlender, an internationally renowned researcher of neutrophil white blood cells of the immune system, especially their role in lung cancer. A quarter to a third of all smokers suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – also known as emphysema – which is an incurable lung disease causing restricted airflow and breathing problems that can make sufferers feel like they are trying to breathe underwater. But few COPD patients have ever heard of it, according to Prof. Zvi Fridlender, founding director and senior physician of the internal medicine department at the Lung Institute of Hadassah-University Medical Center in Jerusalem's Ein Kerem. He is also chairman of the Israel Association of Pulmonology. COPD is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide, responsible for almost four million annually, or 5% of the total. Tobacco smoking and second- and third-hand smoking (exposure to other's smoke or toxins on rugs, curtains, and furniture) accounts for over 70% of COPD cases in high-income countries, with symptoms including coughing, sometimes with phlegm, difficulty breathing, wheezing, and tiredness. Many sufferers can't even walk a hundred meters and have to be constantly attached to oxygen tanks. Patients are at higher risk of other health problems such as lung cancer, lung infections, heart problems, weak muscles, brittle bones, and depression and anxiety. 'We have plenty of laws. Anyone who is caught smoking in public places should be getting a NIS 1,000 fine, but they aren't caught,' Fridlender told The Jerusalem Post. 'The laws aren't enforced by the authorities – the police and the municipalities. There are few effective information campaigns, and taxes on tobacco – cigarettes, rolling tobacco, and electronic cigarettes – must be very high to deter young smokers,' he said. 'While in other countries like the UK, once a law is passed, it is usually honored. Here it is more like a recommendation that is very often ignored.' ANTI-SMOKING activists are furious at Sharon Kedmi, chairman of the Israel Aviation Authority, for canceling the prohibition of smoking rooms in the airports. This violated the authority's commitment to a court in a class action suit filed by Amos Hausner, lead lawyer for the Israel Association for the Prevention of Smoking. The longtime anti-tobacco attorney is currently demanding that the courts prohibit smoking on balconies of apartment buildings or other locations that exposes non-smokers to their neighbors' smoke. In California, 101 local authorities have already completely banned smoking in multi-unit homes, and since 2018, it has been totally prohibited in all federal multi-unit buildings. Smoking rates are growing among young Israelis, said Fridlender, an internationally renowned researcher of neutrophil white blood cells of the immune system, especially their role in lung cancer. He has also been a member of the international body that sets guidelines for the treatment of COPD. 'While smoking rates have significantly declined in the US, Europe, and elsewhere, it has increased in Israel since the Iron Swords War began on October 7, 2023,' he said. Prof. Neville Berkman, who heads the lung institute at Hadassah, added that it's not only smokers who are at health risk. 'People who themselves don't light up think they're safe, but many of them are exposed to lethal tobacco smoke by inhaling it from smokers in the family, at work, and in public spaces,' he said. Electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) also cause lung cancer, which is the main cause of death from cancers in Israel, Berkman said, adding that people who start smoking them, especially young people, tend to move on to smoking regular cigarettes. 'There is behavioral addiction, not just a physical one. They are used to having something in their mouths. Younger smokers may do it to show off, to show they are grown up,' he said. 'Smoking should be recognized by society as an unacceptable practice. Religious Jews who don't smoke on Shabbat (although some use nicotine patches then) prove that it's also behavioral, because they can stop one day a week,' the lung institute's head said. 'The rabbis must tell them that smoking – causing harm to your own body and the health of others – is forbidden according to Jewish law.' SMOKERS WHO cough or have other symptoms can ask for a low-radiation-dose CT scan every year, said Berkman. 'It's in the basket of health services provided by the public health funds, which recognize the fact that treating their members for lung cancer and COPD is more expensive.' The last decade has seen significant improvement in treatment of lung cancer, he continued. 'There are biological therapies – pills and injections – that increase survival rates, but these are not pleasant to undergo, as they have side effects,' he stressed. Biological therapies for lung cancer, also known as targeted therapies and immunotherapies, are treatments that use substances produced by living organisms or are designed to target and destroy cancer cells. Immunotherapy works by boosting the immune system's ability to recognize and destroy cancer cells, either by directly attacking them or by helping other immune cells do so. Drugs that alter the immune system can also be effective. These therapies aim to enhance the body's natural defenses against cancer, block cancer growth, or prevent the spread of cancer. 'The earlier the stage of the disease, the better. If the cancer is advanced, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and other treatments are available, but if they also have COPD, most can't undergo surgery to remove the tumor,' Berkman said. The most important thing is prevention – by not starting to smoke in the first place, he said, adding that if they do start, there are free cessation courses from their health fund, behavioral therapy, phone apps, and drugs that reduce the urge to smoke – 'and the Health Ministry offers a telephone support system.' THE 2024 report on smoking issued by the Health Ministry found that one in five adult Israelis smokes, and the Israeli rate is significantly higher than the global average, and said that E-cigs are a leading smoking product among youth. Quitting smoking here is occurring at a rate 50% lower than the OECD average. Although the ministry has finally approved regulations for putting graphic health warnings on smoking products and barring tax-free status for tobacco at airports – two decades after Israel committed itself to doing so under the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control – it is giving companies a year or two to implement them. An in-depth survey conducted with youth for the ministry shows that the electronic cigarette is the first product tried by about 53% of all those experimenting with products. It was also found that very high numbers of youth use smoking products with added flavors – 88% for hookahs, 82% for electronic cigarettes, and 45% for regular cigarettes and rolling tobacco. The first survey of its kind, conducted among young people in haredi (ultra-Orthodox) society, shows high rates of experimenting with smoking products: 54% in their yeshivot for teens and 80% among haredi teenagers who drop out of religious studies. The latest Smoking Report shows that during the past year, 82 local and regional authorities and councils also reported on activity under the Smoking Prevention Law in Public Places – but more than 65% of local authorities don't report to the ministry or enforce the law, and no government action is taking against them. Sign up for the Health & Wellness newsletter >>
