**UPDATE 7/17 — Michigan's Air Quality Alert extended through noon on Saturday for wildfire smoke **
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SOUTHFIELD (WWJ) -- It's hard to breathe in Metro Detroit, as wildfire smoke engulfs our area.
An Air Quality Alert for the entire state of Michigan has been extended through Friday, July 17, for elevated levels of fine particulate due to wildfire smoke wafting down from Canada.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) said Friday is shaping up to be worse than Thursday, with air quality in the hazardous range in all areas of the state.
According to IQ Air, the Detroit area has some of the worst air quality in the world right now.
Forecasters say the smoke will persist through the Friday, but could start to clear up on Saturday.
"Visibility is quite poor; in some places it's below half-a-mile, it's that thick," warned WWJ AccuWeather Meteorologist Joe Lundberg. "It's probably at its worst today. I think there'll be some modicum of improvement tonight and tomorrow. It can't get much worse that this to be honest, unless the fires were right next to us. But it's as if they are."
EGLE recommends, whenever possible, avoiding strenuous outdoor activities — especially for those with heart disease and respiratory conditions like asthma.
Watch for symptoms including wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, dizziness, or burning in nose, throat, and eyes.
Michiganders can do their part to help reduce air pollution by limiting outdoor burning and use of residential wood burning devices.
At home, keep windows closed to prevent smoke from getting indoors and, if possible, run central air conditioning with MERV-13 or higher rated filters.
DMC Pulminologist Dr. Tanaz Salimnia said the fine particulate matter will bother everyone, not just those with underlying conditions --Air purifiers will help with indoor air quality, she said, and wearing a mask can also help lessen the impacts of the hazardous air.
Salimnia suggests staying indoors with an air conditioner running.
She said the fine particulate matter in the air will bother everyone; not just those with underlying conditions.
Air purifiers will help with indoor air quality, she said, and wearing a mask can also help lessen the impacts of the hazardous air.
"This is definitely the worst — what I'm noticing even indoors, which is the first time I've noticed that indoor air quality has been affected," Salimnia said.
Air quality alerts have been issued for millions of people, including across Michigan, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.
AccuWeather says over 800 wildfires are currently burning across Canada, including dozens that are out of control across western Ontario, the source of most of the smoke; many of them started by lightening.
For up to date air quality data for Michigan, visit the MiAir site: https://michigan.gov/MiAir.
“We want Michigan families to know how to best take precautions to protect their health and safety during air quality events,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Michigan's chief medical executive. “We are urging Michiganders to check the Air Quality Index regularly to decide if they should be participating in outdoor activities and using the website to help determine what actions they should take to keep themselves and their families safe.”
Check the 10-day AccuWeather forecast at this link.
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