Wildfire smoke carries particulate matter, or PM2.5 – a tiny but dangerous pollutant that, when inhaled, can travel deep into lung tissue and enter the bloodstream, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Photos from across the country captured the eerie hazy or orange skies over iconic American skylines, with smoke lingering over freeways and neighborhoods. Meanwhile, from Minnesota to Pennsylvania, events have been canceled due to the wildfire smoke. Residents are being advised to stay indoors with their air conditioning running, avoid going outside, and in some areas, wear N95 masks if they have to be outside. Without climate change, these extreme weather events would not have happened “With no end in sight to the Canadian wildfires and west to northwesterly winds expected to persist from south central Canada into the north central to northeast U.S., poor air quality conditions are likely to continue,” the National Weather Service warned. In Canada – which is seeing its worst fire season on record – authorities have also issued air quality alerts across several provinces. While DC and New York saw an increase in wildfire smoke on Thursday, levels are not expected to reach those seen a few weeks ago, when smoke from Canada’s wildfires also drifted over the US, tanking air quality levels and casting an orange haze over several cities. Readings for small particulate matter from the smoke dropped significantly behind the thunderstorm system, with the air quality index in Champaign, Illinois, falling from around 180, or “unhealthy,” on Thursday morning to just 1 after the storm blew through. Some improvement in air quality was expected Friday, and Thursday’s windy storms will help ease the pollution. Thursday’s worst air pollution was centered over Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis and Cleveland. The storm could become a derecho, which is classified by a swath of wind damage extending more than 240 miles with wind gusts of 58 mph or greater along most of its length, according to the National Weather Service. A storm in Effingham, Illinois on Thursday afternoon.
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