Drifting smoke from wildfires in Canada is expected to diminish the air quality today in Rochester and most of New York.
The State Department of Health issued an air quality alert Tuesday evening for all parts of New York, with the greatest impact expected in the western regions of the state.
Officials say there might be spikes of poor air quality in any region throughout the day.
The severity of the air pollution depends on the density of smoke and the direction of the wind, says Dr. Daniel Croft, associate professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
But even if those two factors are in our favor, the warm weather can affect air quality.
"The hot temperatures can worsen the chemical reactions that happen with the air pollution, and potentially make it more toxic," Croft says.
Croft is advising some of his patients to stay indoors. Older adults, pregnant people, and those with heart disease, asthma, and other lung conditions are especially at risk.
He says even healthy people would be wise to take precautions, because smoke and poor air quality irritates and stresses the lungs.
"In the same way you dodge a big cloud of cigarette smoke," he said, "I would dodge this air pollution from the wildfire smoke."
He suggests checking the color coded local air quality index on your weather app throughout the day and adjusting your activity accordingly. That information can also be found at airnow.gov
Heavy smoke from several large wildfires blazing in Canada and Minnesota is expected to engulf large swaths of the Midwest and Northeast U.S. this week, exposing millions of people to dangerous air pollution.
