Air quality improving but still unhealthy
ELGE\\\\\\\'s Air Quality Alert in effect in MI today
After extremely poor air quality at the end of last week, the smoke from forest fires should be reducing, but the air is not yet healthy. This graph shows the amount of particulate in the air in the Escanaba area the past several days. (Screenshot via airnow.gov)
With unhealthy AQI levels, people should limit activity and exertion while outdoors. This number was taken Sunday evening.(airnow.gov)
After extremely poor air quality at the end of last week, the smoke from forest fires should be reducing, but the air is not yet healthy. This graph shows the amount of particulate in the air in the Escanaba area the past several days. (Screenshot via airnow.gov)
With unhealthy AQI levels, people should limit activity and exertion while outdoors. This number was taken Sunday evening.(airnow.gov)
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ESCANABA -- After reaching hazardous extremes last week, the air quality in the area is improving but remains unhealthy.
On Sunday, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) issued an Air Quality Alert for July 19 and July 20, "for elevated levels of fine particulate due to wildfire smoke." Conditions were expected to be "unhealthy" across the Upper Peninsula and "unhealthy for sensitive groups" in the Lower Peninsula, according to a statement from the National Weather Service (NWS) on Sunday.
At 7 p.m. on Sunday, airnow.gov ranked Escanaba's air quality index (AQI) at 90, which falls in the "moderate" range, but half an hour later read as an “unhealthy” 181.
Monday's AQI in Escanaba is expected to be "unhealthy for sensitive groups" with a score between 100 and 150. Comparatively, Thursday's air pollution was so bad that the AQIs measured around the Upper Peninsula exceeded 600, which is off many standard charts. Thursday's air quality in the Great Lakes region was worse than notoriously polluted parts of the globe.
Fires continue to burn in Canada and Minnesota, though storms over the weekend helped reduce their impact. Smoke from the fires has affected much of the Midwest and Northeast.