As the wildfires continue to burn across eastern Canada, Dayla Khuder decided to put on her mask outside to help filter out some of those harmful particles.
As the wildfires continue to burn across eastern Canada, Dayla Khuder decided to put on her mask outside to help filter out some of those harmful particles.
“The air quality is just really bad and I don’t want that stuff in my lungs,” Khuder said.
But why is the smoke settling in our area? Alec Kownacki, a meteorologist with the Michigan Department of Environment Great Lakes and Energy, says a low-pressure system over Ontario is bringing the smoke toward Michigan.
“The smoke does not have the amount of time or distance to really disperse and get aloft in the upper atmosphere, so [it’s] staying closer to the surface,” meteorologist Kownacki said.
It’s unclear how long the smoke will linger or take to clear out. It’s typically a problem for the western side of the United States and an unusual one for Michigan.
Doctors say that have taken notice as patients have complained about the quality of air.
“They’ve been trickling in over the last several weeks,” Dr. Devang Doshi a pulmonologist with Corewell Health said.
According to Doshi, the air quality is some of the worst he’s personally ever seen from wildfire smoke.
“We’re strongly advising people to avoid doing things they don’t have to necessarily do outside and if they do have to go outside, using a N-95 to protect that airway from all that particulate matter,” he said.
Those N-95 masks should be worn for long periods of time outside. You also want to keep your doors and windows closed and let your HVAC system filter it out.