6 days ago
Why are the skies hazy? Wildfire smoke from Canada moves into Greater Cincinnati
Smoke from raging wildfires in Canada is worsening air quality in some U.S. states.
While not on the same scale as the spring and summer of 2023, when over 800 Canadian wildfires burned more than 40 million acres and blanketed large swaths of the Midwest and East Coast with a gray haze, the current outbreak of approximately 150 blazes will have an extended impact across the border as the wind blows southeast.
But will Greater Cincinnati be affected? Here's what we know.
According to USA TODAY, parts of the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and other states experienced levels of smoke particulates in the air deemed moderate to unhealthy on the morning of May 31.
The ongoing smoke is due to blazes in Canada, including the provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, where authorities said a combination of rising temperatures, winds and low humidity has spread active fires to thousands of acres. At least 17,000 people have been forced to evacuate as of May 31, the national news site writes.
Smoke has already been detected drifting through Montana, North Dakota and northern Minnesota, where air quality alerts have been issued. The smoke is expected to head southeast, where cloud cover would minimize its impact.
The Southwest Ohio Air Quality Agency has not issued an alert for Greater Cincinnati.
Cincinnati's AQI measured 61 as of Monday, June 2, meaning the area has ozone and PM2.5, or fine particulate matter, levels in the yellow, or moderate, zone.
According to Columbia University, the EPA created the air quality index, or AQI, "to monitor and report on air quality each day and let people know about its possible health impacts."
Over 1,000 locations in the United States monitor and record the air in a color-coded index for four significant pollutants: ground-level ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide. Here's a breakdown of what each level means.
Green (0-50) is good.
Yellow (51-100) is moderate.
Orange (101-150) is unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Red (151-200) is unhealthy.
Purple (201-300) is very unhealthy.
Maroon (300+) is hazardous.
See where the wildfires are still burning in Canada using the NASA-FIRMS wildfire map.
This map tracks the latest wildfires, red flag warnings, and smoke from wildfires. You can look at just Ohio or zoom out to look at the country. Are you looking for air quality index (AQI) updates? We have a map for that, too.
Wildfire smoke map: Track fires and red flag warnings across the US and Ohio
The EPA interactive map for air quality shows the Cincinnati region in the yellow or moderate category on Monday, June 2.
While this air quality is still regarded as "acceptable," some people may experience health impacts, especially those sensitive to air pollution.
Smoke will also have a subtle impact on surface temperatures on June 2, with highs a couple of degrees below normal. However, temperatures will still climb into the mid-70s.
High concentrations of smoke will persist across the area on Tuesday, June 3. There will likely be some obstruction from the smoke and "milky-white appearance in the sky" throughout the day, per the National Weather Service in Wilmington.
Although it may be difficult to predict precisely when the haze will lift because air pollution is weather-dependent, showers and thunderstorms are expected to return by mid-week, which may aid in clearing the air.
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY; Jorge L. Ortiz and Chad Murphy, The Akron Beacon Journal.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Is Ohio air affected by Canadian wildfires? Track latest smoke data
