(WWJ) - Air quality concerns continue to plague millions of people -- including all of Michigan -- and it's once again due to heavy smoke pouring into the region from forest fires burning out of control in Canada.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) issued an Air Quality Alert for the entire state of Michigan, which runs through Tuesday at 11 p.m.
The Air Quality Index (AQI), which measures how clean the air is and if there are any potential health effects, is forecast to range from "unhealthy for sensitive groups" to "unhealthy" at times.
Experts say the Great Lakes state will see elevated levels of particulate matter, also identified as PM2.5, includes emissions from combustion of gasoline, oil, diesel fuel, and as seen in this case, wood.
According to the WHO, PM2.5 is associated with the greatest proportion of adverse health effects related to air pollution, both in the United States and world-wide.
"The health effects of particle pollution exposure can range from relatively minor (e.g., eye and respiratory tract irritation) to more serious health effects (e.g., exacerbation of asthma and heart failure, and premature death)," The Detroit Health Department said of the unhealthy air. "Older adults, pregnant women, children, and people with preexisting respiratory and heart conditions may be more likely to get sick if they breathe in wildfire smoke."
AccuWeather meteorologist Dean DeVore said the worst air is expected in the late afternoon and into the early afternoon hours southerly winds push the smoke back into Canada, improving conditions.
The haze is not forecasted to linger or blanket the region like it did in New York and Northeast earlier this month.
While Metro Detroit has had several Air Quality Alerts issued in the last few weeks, DeVore warned that the bad air caused by wildfire smoke isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
"Canada is off to record-setting pace for the wildfires this summer and that's not going to go away," DeVore said. "They're not getting as much of the moisture that we've been getting here over the last week or so, which has been helping our situation a little bit on the ground level, in terms of the drought and the dryness."
Metro Detroit got a brief break from the haze, but Tuesday is gearing up to cause poor air quality issues.
"We've got an area of low pressure that's off to our east and it's just funneling that smoke and haze towards us," DeVore said. "Visibilities aren't much below about two miles in places, but that smoke haze and that kind of foggy situation [will be] around this morning with temperatures low to mid-60s, a little drizzle in there, too. Then as we go through the rest of the day, we're going to continue to keep the poor air quality issues, clouds and maybe a shower or two as we only get back up to about 70° to 74° today."
DeVore said it will remain hazy into the evening hours as Metro Detroit drops down to a low in the upper 50s. More sun is in the forecast for Wednesday, but it will still be smoky with daytime highs getting up to near 80.
Experts recommend Michiganders affected by the smoke take the following actions to stay safe over the next 24 hours:
• Wear a mask outdoors
• Run an air purifier
• Close your windows to avoid dirty outdoor air
• Avoid outdoor exercise
For further information, please see the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy Air Quality Index page on the internet at http://www.deqmiair.org