Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Smoke from wildfires in Northern Minnesota and Ontario will continue to hang over Western New York Thursday in an encore of Wednesday's orange-tinted haze as an Air Quality Alert is posted until midnight for the region, causing poor air quality and reduced visibility.
"It looks like it may worsen some today," National Weather Service meteorologist Heather Kenyon tells WBEN. "Looking at upstream observations across Michigan and the central Great Lakes, some visibility is already down to one mile. So we could potentially expect that today through the afternoon."
Air quality is expected to improve Friday, though it looks like the smoke will stay.
"It does look like smoke is going to continue aloft into the weekend. So we'll probably see those hazy skies tomorrow and Saturday."
AIR QUALITY ALERT IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EDT THURSDAY NIGHT
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation at Albany has issued an Air Quality Health Advisory for Fine Particulates until midnight EDT Thursday night.
Air quality levels in outdoor air are predicted to be greater than an Air Quality Index value of 200 for Fine Particulates. The Air Quality Index...or AQI...was created as an easy way to correlate levels of different pollutants to one scale. The higher the AQI value...the greater the health concern.
When pollution levels are elevated...the New York State Department of Health recommends that individuals consider limiting strenuous outdoor physical activity to reduce the risk of adverse health effects. People who may be especially sensitive to the effects of elevated levels of pollutants include the very young and those with pre-existing respiratory problems such as asthma or heart disease. Those with symptoms should consider consulting their personal physician.
For additional information, please visit the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation website at, https://on.ny.gov/nyaqi, or call the Air Quality Hotline at 1 800 5 3 5, 1 3 4 5.
National Weather Service
