Hazardous air quality alerts have been issued across North America as wildfires continue to rage across the western U.S. and Canada.
Smoke from the blazes are expected to spread across the country over the next few days, with the National Weather Service warning of visibility issues and poor air quality across the western part of the United States.
As of July 24, 88 large active wildfires were being managed across North America, having burned 1,431,460 acres of land, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Thousands have been evacuated from their homes across California, the northern Rockies and the Great Basin.
While the fires themselves are undoubtedly destructive, the smoke from burning forests and peat can linger in the atmosphere for weeks, traveling thousands of miles. The effect on health of this smoke are far-reaching, affecting everything from our lungs to our immune systems.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the highest proportion of these health risks can be attributed to fine particulate matter measuring less than 2.5 microns in diameter, known as PM2.5.
In collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service, the EPA has combined data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Interagency Fire Center, and other smoke monitoring and sensing sites, to create a fire smoke map of air quality across North America.
The map uses a color-coded air quality index, which is based on the concentrations of PM2.5 and satellite data. At the bottom of the scale, green areas are considered to have "good" air quality where air pollution poses little or no risk. At the top of the scale are red, purple and maroon areas, with quality ranging from "unhealthy" to "hazardous."
In the U.S., sites in Northern California, Oregon and Washington all have "hazardous" levels of PM2.5 air pollution, with warnings in place to stay indoors.
Additionally, "unhealthy" levels of PM2.5 have been detected in Montana and Texas, with officials urging residents to reduce outdoor activity.
In Canada, similarly high levels have been detected in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, even extending into the Northwest Territories.
You can keep up with the latest updates by looking at the Fire and Smoke Live Map here.
The NOAA has also released a smoke forecast for the next 52 hours that shows the plumes spreading eastward across North America, with particularly high concentrations in the northwestern U.S. and western and central Canada.
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