More than 739 fires are burning in Canada, and smoke crossing the border has triggered air quality alerts in several U.S. states.
Air quality health advisories are up for all of Central and Eastern New York, Central to Northern Vermont and the entire state of Massachusetts.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Air Resources Director Margaret LaFarr: "Today we do have a health advisory out for particulate matter for much of the state actually all of state except for Long Island is under an advisory for particulate matter. In addition we do have an advisory out for ozone for Long Island in the New York City Metro area. So both of these are somewhat related to the wildfire smoke from fires in Canada. That particulate matter, definitely we are seeing smoke move across the state and right now we are seeing some higher numbers In Western New York, it will spike occasionally we do expect the smoke is kind of in between two air masses and we expect that there will be a period where air quality impact will decrease for a little while, but then that's gonna be short-lived, and more smoke enhanced particulate matter will move in ahead of a frontal boundary tonight. So we will, we expect that this event could continue," said LaFarr.
The current pattern could result in the region’s most significant smoke event since June 2023, when Canadian wildfires blanketed the Northeast with haze.
With nearly 4,000 fires having been tallied since the beginning of this year, our neighbor to the north is dealing with its second worst wildfire season on record, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. The center says firefighters and equipment in every jurisdiction in Canada are being put to use, and international help has been requested.
National Weather Service at Albany Meteorologist Kevin Lipton says "We do have smoke, both aloft and a little bit at the surface, that's emanating from Canadian wildfires located far away from the Capital Region, actually across central and even Northwest parts of Canada. The way the wind flow has been, it's actually allowed the smoke to track a long distance and actually get into the Northeastern US, including the capital region, the biggest effects, weather wise, on our area could limit the potential for warming today, Temperature wise, so dipping out the sun a little bit, and therefore temperatures that would normally probably reach the middle and upper 80s today, if not slightly warmer, might be limited a little bit more to the lower and mid 80s because of the thickness of the smoke."
DEC says the pollutant of concern is fine particulate matter, which consists of tiny solid particles or liquid droplets in the air that are 2.5 microns or less in diameter. Exposure can cause short-term health problems, including eye, nose and throat irritation, coughing, sneezing, runny nose, and shortness of breath. Elevated levels of fine particulate matter can also worsen medical conditions, such as asthma and heart disease.
Air quality meteorologist Laura Warren, with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, urges folks throughout the Bay State and beyond to be vigilant and watch for symptoms such as coughing or shortness of breath.
"We're expecting air quality across the Commonwealth to be reaching the unhealthy for sensitive groups. Range sensitive groups include people with heart or lung disease, such as asthma, older adults, children, teenagers and people who have are active, outdoors. People who have either lung disease or heart disease are at greater risk of exposure to air pollution. So we advise people in these sensitive groups to reduce prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion, take breaks and do less intense activities, as well as follow asthma action plans and keep quick release medicine handy," Warren said.
As of this morning, air quality tracker IQAir ranked the air quality in Montreal as 5th most polluted in the world.
For additional information, including forecasts and real-time data, check MassDEP's MassAir Online site.
