The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection upgraded the Code Orange Air Quality Action Day to a Code Red Wednesday morning. The Code Red is issued for the entire commonwealth due to smoke from Canadian wildfires, according to the Allegheny County Health Department. "We've seen some smoke from wildfires, but it's mostly been high up in the atmosphere. This seems to be a continuous bout of being down here where you and I are breathing," said Patrick Campbell, executive director of Group Against Smog and Pollution. "That's the really damaging part to public health because that fine particulate matter, we're breathing that deeply in our bodies."The poor air quality didn't stop Pirates fans from attending Wednesday's game, but some said they were monitoring the situation closely. Michael Vetere has asthma."I have an emergency pack with me that has medication in it in case I do have a problem...If it got bad, I would just say that's it. We are going home," Vetere said."You could see a haze over the city. It concerns me because of our young age, and we are going to be outside all day today," Terry Vetere said.Despite the poor air quality, Sam Taute decided to go for a run."Honestly, I haven't noticed anything different about the air quality. I have been reading a little bit about it, so my hope was that most of it was further North than Pittsburgh, but so far I haven't noticed anything different about the air quality from just a running perspective," Taute said.Campbell said people need to take the alerts seriously"That's the first thing. Don't mess around with it. The DEP and air quality regulators do not issue these codes lightly," Campbell said.Watch the latest air quality forecast from Pittsburgh's Action Weather in the video above.The DEP utilizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Air Quality Index color codes, which rate air pollution, to determine the labeling of each county. Green is good air quality, yellow is moderate air quality, orange is unhealthy air quality for certain groups, and red is unhealthy air quality for all. "We need to make sure our windows are closed, if you're someone who has small children or an elderly adult, you need to really take extra care by limiting your time outside....if you can avoid going and running, exercising outdoors, do that. If you can avoid walking or taking your dog for a walk, do that today," Campbell said.Air pollution consists of particulate matter, or particle pollution, which is small dust or metal particles or other material floating in the air. Particle pollution can be caused by a number of factors, one of which is wildfires.Check the air quality near you with these links: Federal AirNow.gov Fire and Smoke MapAllegheny County Health Department Air QualityPittsburgh's Action Weather meteorologist Ashley Dougherty said typically smoke comes in from the West Coast or Northwest Canada. However, we're now seeing smoke come from fires in Quebec, which is much closer and means a shorter travel time for smoke.She also added that a northwest wind is helping guide the smoke in, which means hazy conditions are likely to linger through Thursday. The DEP encourages anyone in the state to voluntarily help reduce fine particulate matter air pollution by:Avoiding the open burning of leaves, trash, and other materials; andAvoiding the use of gas-powered lawn and garden equipment.Experts say poor air quality can cause a number of symptoms, including headaches, increased coughing and chest pains.