Smoke from Canadian wildfires make large unhealthy air in the Midwest – National
Smoke from Canadian wildfires hovered in several Midwest states on Saturday, causing warnings of unhealthy air on at least the third day.
Air quality alerts are actually effective in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, as well as Nebraska, and parts of Indiana and Illinois. The forecaster said the smoky sky will remain for most of the day. People with lung disease, heart disease, children, the elderly and pregnant women are most susceptible to dyspnea.
Canadian environmental officials say smoke from forest fires has caused a decrease in popularity and poor quality will continue until Sunday in some areas.
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The Swiss-based air quality monitoring database, IQAIR, assesses air quality in real time, listing the city of Minneapolis as some of the world’s worst air pollution since Friday.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) is expected to enter the red or unhealthy category in a large swath of Minnesota and may continue until Saturday. AQI is a system used to communicate how much air pollution is in the air. It divides pollution into six categories and colors and provides advice on unsafe practices. They range from “good” (green) to “dangerous” (maroon).
Smoke may start to drop from Saturday and then spread to Tennessee and Missouri. By Monday, the air may remain unhealthy for sensitive groups, state health officials said.
The EPA’s air quality index converts all pollutant levels into one number. The lower the number, the better. Anything under 50 is classified as “healthy”. 50 to 100 are “medium”, while 100-150 is not healthy for “sensitive groups”. Anything above 150 is not good for everyone. Parts of Minnesota surpassed that number on Saturday.
Health officials advise people with asthma and other lung diseases, heart disease, children and the elderly to avoid prolonged exposure to smoke and limit intense activity. They say avoid burning things that may worsen air pollution and prevent windows and doors from closing to prevent smoke from entering the interior.
& Copy 2025 Canadian Press
