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CBS News
5 days ago
- Climate
- CBS News
This is why Michigan is seeing so much wildfire smoke
Let's be honest: This smoke is getting ridiculous, and we're all sick of it. But why does this keep happening? I have answers for this, some of which you won't like, but this is the reality of our situation. Wildfires continue to burn across a massive area in Canada, particularly in the provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. These fires throw a ton of smoke into the air. What's important to know is that the atmosphere is like a fluid, so much so that meteorologists learn some fluid dynamics in school to understand how it "flows." High pressure around us lately has brought beautiful weather to the region, minus the smoke, of course. What's important to know about pressure is that it spins; High pressure clockwise and Low pressure counterclockwise. These can act like gears in conjunction with the atmosphere around the centers of each pressure, and sometimes with each other. High pressure is not just at the surface, but extremely high in the air. Smoke that is dense enough will flow around the area of pressure in the direction of its spin, in our case, clockwise around strong high pressure. More recently, the high pressure has started moving east, and the area between a strong High and Low acts like a funnel. Each area of pressure now works like two gears spinning in conjunction with one another, and smoke funnels through that flowing air in between. Unfortunately, this means it flows through Michigan, but once another area of low pressure moves in, it will bump our high out of the way. The atmosphere flows this way with an overall pattern of high, low, high, then low in a circulation around the globe. This is the hard part, and be warned, it involves some math. As our climate warms, there are multiple issues that these areas of Canada experience on a larger scale. Starting with the basics, temperatures in Saskatchewan have risen 11.8 degrees Fahrenheit to 20.4 degrees Fahrenheit above average. Manitoba has risen 22 to 24.3 degrees Fahrenheit above average. Intense heat is a double-edged sword, causing both dry vegetation and heightened storm issues. For example, 93% of fires in Canada in 2023 (arguably one of the worst years) were caused by lightning strikes. According to Climate Central, which tracks temperature and climate conditions around the globe, Canada is warming at a rate double that of the global rate. Another issue is the population and the area affected. These fires aren't like those in the U.S., where access can sometimes be easier to fight. Saskatchewan and Manitoba account for just over 6% of the entire population of Canada, and the fire locations are far less than that. Most of Canada is a massive forest, and with a large fire in the middle with nothing but air access, it's extremely difficult to both manage, mitigate, and fight a fire. Fires in dry forest can spread up to 14 miles per hour, and in the middle of nowhere, that's no time. In Michigan, we had our first alert for air quality due to smoke in 2023. Since then, we have had 28 days (including Tuesday, Aug. 5) of advisory or alert-level air quality due to wildfire smoke. I'll be honest, it's pretty nasty. Several times over the past week, we've been in the top five for worst air quality on the planet, according to IQAir. One of the main levels we measure is called PM2.5, particulate matter that measures with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers. Wildfire smoke, exhaust, etc., fit into this measurement. Depending on the level in the atmosphere, it can be the equivalent of smoking several cigarettes a day with continuous exposure. For example, an AQI of 150, which is what we've been around for a few days, would mean a continuous and unfiltered exposure would equal 1.5 cigarettes in 12 hours. The good news is that most HVAC systems have filters, and air purifiers do as well. However, it gets more complicated than that. The bottom line is that if you are someone with respiratory concerns, you want to limit time outdoors at these levels, and especially during strenuous work. That doesn't have an easy answer. This may become an issue each wildfire season as our climate warms. Remember, fire season is perfectly normal. But what isn't normal is the rate of occurrence, and sadly, in areas with little to no access for mitigation and fire-fighting. This is a story and concern that we will continue to track. The better the winter, the better the brush, and the lower the fire risk overall for those areas.
GMA Network
10-07-2025
- Climate
- GMA Network
Habagat to bring scattered rains over parts of PH
The Southwest Monsoon or Habagat will continue to bring rain showers over the country on Friday, PAGASA reported. As of 2:00 a.m., the Low Pressure Area (07d), outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility or PAR, has a high potential of developing into a tropical depression within the next 24 hours. Meanwhile, the LPA, a remnant of Tropical Depression (DANAS), remains outside the PAR and is unlikely to redevelop into a tropical depression within the next 24 hours. Western Visayas, Negros Island Region, Palawan, and Occidental Mindoro will have occasional rains due to the Southwest Monsoon with flash floods or landslides occurring due to moderate to heavy rains. Metro Manila, Mindanao, the rest of Visayas, Batanes, Babuyan Islands, Zambales, Bataan, Cavite, and Batangas will have cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms due to the Southwest Monsoon with possible flash floods or landslides occurring due to moderate to at times heavy rains. The rest of Luzon will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms also due to the Southwest Monsoon with flash floods or landslides occurring during severe thunderstorms. The wind speed forecast for northern and western sections of Luzon is moderate to strong moving in the southwest to south direction with moderate to rough coastal waters. The rest of the country will experience light to moderate wind speed moving in the south to southwest direction while coastal waters will be slight to moderate. Sunrise will be at 5:34 a.m., sunset at 6:30 p.m. — BAP, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
02-07-2025
- Climate
- GMA Network
PAGASA issues heavy rainfall outlook due to LPA, Southwest Monsoon
Several areas will likely experience heavy rains between Wednesday evening and Saturday evening due to the Low Pressure Area and the Southwest Monsoon, PAGASA said. In a weather advisory late Tuesday, the state weather bureau said heavy rainfall from 50 to 100 mm is expected between Wednesday and Thursday evening in Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Apayao, Kalinga, Abra, and Ilocos Norte. The same amount of rainfall may be seen between Thursday evening and Friday evening in Batanes, Cagayan, Apayao, Kalinga, Ilocos Norte, and Abra Between Friday evening and Saturday evening, rain is also expected in Batanes, Cagayan, Apayao, and Ilocos Norte. Meanwhile, as a result of the Southwest Monsoon, rainfall of 50 to 100 mm between Wednesday and Thursday evening may be felt in Metro Manila, Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan, Cavite, Batangas, and Occidental Mindoro. Between Thursday evening and Friday evening, rainfall of 100 to 200 mm is expected to drench the provinces of Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan, and Occidental Mindoro. Metro Manila, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Benguet, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, and Antique will likely have rainfall of 50 to 100 mm. Between Friday evening and Saturday evening, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Abra, Benguet, Zambales, Bataan, and Occidental Mindoro are expected to experience rainfall of 50-100 mm. "Forecast rainfall may be higher in mountainous and elevated areas. Moreover, impacts in some areas may be worsened by significant antecedent rainfall, PAGASA said. "The public and disaster risk reduction and management offices concerned are advised to take all necessary measures to protect life and property," it added.—LDF, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
01-07-2025
- Climate
- GMA Network
LPA inside PAR has 'high' chance to develop into storm
The Low Pressure Area (LPA) inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility has a "high" potential to develop into a tropical depression within the next 24 hours, PAGASA said on Wednesday. "Due to the LPA's close proximity to the landmass, hoisting of Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal #1 is possible along the eastern sections of Northern and Central Luzon as soon as it develops into a Tropical Depression," it added. Meanwhile, Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan Valley, Aurora, and Nueva Ecija will have cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms due to the LPA. Metro Manila, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, Bicol Region, Western Visayas, and the rest of Central Luzon will also experience cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms as a result of the Southwest Monsoon. The rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rains or thunderstorms due to the Southwest Monsoon. Sunrise is at 5:31 a.m. and sunset is at 6:29 p.m. —LDF, GMA Integrated News
