(WJW) – Thursday will be another hazy day in Northeast Ohio.
Smoke from massive wildfires in Canada continues to impact the United States.
Air Quality Alerts remain in effect not only in our area but, most of the Midwest and stretching to the East Coast.
Air quality forecast, how to check levels
The air quality will not be as bad as the past few days, according to FOX 8 Meteorologist Jenn Harcher, but the forecast does have another round of smoke moving into the area Thursday evening into Friday. Then, we will see a break and another plume later next week.
You can watch the timing in the ‘smoke forecast’ in the video player above.
Air quality levels issued by the Environmental Protection Agency first spiked into the red, or unhealthy level, on Wednesday prompting a warning from doctors for the very young, the elderly, and anyone with respiratory issues. As of Thursday, parts of Northeast Ohio remained in that category.
An interactive map of air quality across the U.S. can be found here.
Protecting yourself
The best methods to protect yourself, according to the Cleveland Clinic:
- Keep your home and car windows closed
- Don’t use your fireplace or grill
- Purchase air purifiers for rooms you spend the most time in
- Stay inside
- Wear an N95 mask
- Don’t burn candles or use wood-burning stoves
- Avoid secondhand smoke
Hazy, colorful skies
Because of the hazy conditions, Northeast Ohio has been seeing beautiful firey-red sunsets. This one was sent to us by Kathleen Gibson in Brimfield.
Dense smoke has also been documented in New York City. The video below comes from @NomikiKonst via Storyful.