Pennsylvania will once again be under an air quality alert because of smoke from Canadian wildfires.
The state Department of Environmental Protection issued a Code Orange Air Quality Action Day for Monday. At the code orange level young children, the elderly and those with respiratory problems, such as asthma, emphysema and bronchitis, are especially vulnerable to the effects of air pollution and should limit outdoor activities, according to the DEP.
Smoke from the continuing wildfires is expected to contribute to higher concentrations of fine particulate matter, which can be made up of hundreds of different chemicals.
On Air Quality Action Days, residents and businesses also are encouraged to voluntarily help reduce fine particulate matter air pollution by avoiding the open burning of leaves, trash and other materials, and avoiding the use of gas-powered lawn and garden equipment.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Air Quality Index uses standardized color codes for forecasting and reporting air quality. Green indicates good air quality; yellow is moderate air quality; orange means unhealthy pollution levels for sensitive groups; red indicates unhealthy pollution levels for all; purple means very unhealthy; and maroon means hazardous.
Centre County’s Air Quality Index forecast for Monday is 127, which falls about in the middle of the orange range of 100-150, according to AirNow.gov. The county’s air quality was at 40, in the green range, on Sunday afternoon.
Residents can check AirNow.gov for current air quality conditions.
This week will mark the third time this summer that smoke from the wildfires has moved through Pennsylvania and caused unhealthy air quality.
On June 7, the entire state was under a Code Red alert and air quality remained at unhealthy levels for several days, forcing the cancelation of events in Centre County such as the Special Olympics Pennsylvania Summer Games and a State College Spikes game.
Code Red alerts again were issued at the end of June.
While those smoky skies in June were largely the result of fires in Quebec, the air quality on Monday is being caused by smoke from wildfires in Alberta and British Columbia in western Canada. The smoke moved south and east into the upper midwestern United States late last week and is now shifting eastward, according to AirNow.
More than 900 active fires are burning in Canada and a record 23 million acres has burned in the country since late spring.
