Air quality alert issued as Canadian wildfire smoke arrives for Wednesday and Thursday!

An Air Quality Alert has been issued for all of Central New York by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. What is going on? : --Air quality levels of outdoor air are predicted to be greater than an air quality index value of 100 for the pollutant of ozone. --The air quality index (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. Why is this happening? : --A combination of high heat and humidity plus Canadian wildfire smoke aloft and at the surface will likely increase over our entire area for Wednesday and likely Thursday. What are the impacts? : --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. Skies may look eerie. Besides the air pollution aspect for people, when the smoke is thick enough it can obscure and even make daytime skies look eerie. Do not be surprised if skies look something like this : Click here for more information on the forecast for pollutants across New York state .