Could haze and smoke be the story of the summer?
After smoke from the Canadian wildfires caused the air quality to plummet across Massachusetts in recent days and some people put back on their N95 masks, meteorologists are warning that smoke from up north could impact the region at times over the next several weeks.
“We might be experiencing this off and on throughout the summer, depending on how the weather pattern shapes up,” AccuWeather senior meteorologist John Gresiak told the Herald on Wednesday — which was a better day for air quality in the Bay State, while New York City and other spots on the East Coast dealt with hazardous conditions.
The haze and smoke could continue to affect the region because the Canadian wildfires are out of control, and it doesn’t appear they’ll be put out soon.
The wildfires are in remote areas of northern Quebec where very few people live, Gresiak said.
“It may be awhile before the fires get extinguished,” he added.
When the air quality drastically plummets, AccuWeather estimates that breathing the polluted air for several hours can be compared to smoking five to 10 cigarettes.
“There are a lot of particulates in this wildfire smoke, and that stuff can cause all kinds of problems when it gets into your lungs, especially if you have asthma or other conditions,” Gresiak said. “Even healthy people don’t want to inhale too much of this.”
Secondhand smoke is a respiratory irritant, and this is a respiratory irritant “in much the same way,” according to Scott Goldberg, director of emergency medical services for Mass General Brigham.
The particulate matter can cause shortness of breath, especially for those in sensitive groups, which includes children, senior citizens, those with pre-existing respiratory and cardiac conditions, and pregnant people.
“If you’re feeling any respiratory symptoms, go inside to a cool place and rest,” said Goldberg, who’s also an emergency medicine physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
People especially in sensitive groups should try to limit their time outdoors until the levels of particulate matter decrease, he said, adding that they should have their rescue medications on hand.
While much of the focus has been on outside pollution, the tiny particles from the wildfire smoke can get into homes and cause health risks, said Shichao Liu, a Worcester Polytechnic Institute assistant professor of architectural engineering and fire protection engineering.
“Even though people are staying in buildings, they’re not 100% prevented from the exposure of the outdoor smoke conditions,” he said.
Liu said people can attach an air filter to the back of a box fan to help clean out their home’s inside air. He also advised people to make sure their vehicle’s A/C is on recirculation mode to avoid bringing the outside air inside the vehicle.
As far as the near future forecast in Massachusetts, Thursday’s smoke will be mainly situated south of the Mass Pike corridor, according to the National Weather Service’s Boston office.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has again issued an air quality advisory for Thursday.
“AIR QUALITY: Wildfire smoke from Canada will continue to influence fine particle levels in parts of our region on Thursday,” the advisory reads. “Fine particle levels will likely average in the Good range in northeast sections of the State and Moderate range in the remainder of eastern and central parts of the State. Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups levels are once again likely in western sections of the State and an Air Quality Alert remains posted for particle pollution in western sections.”
