Air quality alerts issued for Southeast Michigan because of Canadian wildfire smoke
Smoke from Canadian wildfires is leading to very unhealthy air quality for much of Michigan, including all of Southeast Michigan.
An air quality alert is in effect for all of Southeast Michigan until midnight on Saturday.
At one point, there were 150,000 acres on fire in parts of Canada. Nearly 100 of the fires have led to dangerous smoke.
Anyone with respiratory issues, including the elderly and the very young, could have difficulty breathing. With the air quality level of concern bordering between unhealthy for sensitive groups and unhealthy for all, the smoke in the air is equivalent to smoking approximately three cigarettes in a 24-hour period.
Most of the rain from Wednesday night and early Thursday is coming to an end. Now, more smoke is moving in from Canada.
Smoke was also trapped in our atmosphere from thick cloud cover overnight.