Maps show wildfire smoke forecast as air quality worsens in Pittsburgh area
Wildfire smoke is causing hazardous air quality in the Pittsburgh area, prompting warnings from health officials.
The Allegheny County Health Department on Thursday afternoon said that air quality maps from the Environmental Protection Agency show the county has entered the "maroon" range, which is the worst air quality possible.
The haze comes from fine particulates, which are ultra-tiny particles from the wildfires carried in the atmosphere.
Maps show wildfire smoke forecast
Smoke from wildfires in Canada and Minnesota has been "significantly deteriorating" the air quality across Pennsylvania all day Thursday, the health department said.
Without a lot of movement of the wildfire smoke, air quality is expected to worsen through Friday and stay that way through most of the day. The smoke will clear out Saturday morning as a warm front moves in, shifting and increasing the winds.
The PurpleAir map shows much of southwestern Pennsylvania was at hazardous levels on Thursday evening.
Tips for staying safe in unhealthy air quality
When air quality is this bad, health officials recommend sensitive groups like children, elderly residents and people with asthma stay inside and keep activity levels low. Everyone else is recommended to avoid all physical activity outdoors.
If you don't have an air conditioner, the health department says staying inside with the windows closed may be dangerous in the extremely hot temperatures the Pittsburgh area is seeing. If you're hot, find somewhere with air conditioning, like a cooling center.
Set your air conditioner to recirculate, so it's not pulling in air from outside. And if you do have to go outside, wearing a mask can help filter out those particulates in the air.
Public health researchers have found every two hours in the "very unhealthy Code Purple air quality, which is forecasted across all of Pennsylvania on Friday, is about the same as smoking one cigarette. So being exposed to this air for 24 hours is the same as smoking at least half a pack of cigarettes.
Gov. Josh Shapiro said state officials are monitoring the poor air quality across the commonwealth.
"PEMA has been in touch with local counties to make sure they have the resources they need," Shapiro said.
How to check your air quality
To see your current air quality, go to airnow.gov. The Allegheny County Health Department is advising people to stay up to date with their current air quality. You can also see the current air quality in Pittsburgh below.
Photos show Pittsburgh-area wildfire smoke
People across western Pennsylvania are feeling the impact of the wildfire smoke.
"There's smoke all the way down the valley, man," said Bill Ayres from Beaver Falls. "Everywhere, haze in front of you, haze in back of you. Everywhere, man."
You can see how badly western Pennsylvania is getting hit by the wildfire smoke in the photos below.
