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Poor, unhealthy air expected across CT due to smoke from Canadian wildfires

Canadian wildfires continue to affect air quality across the U.S. DEEP expects smoke levels to exceed the Unhealthy level across Connecticut June 30, 2023.
AirNow.gov
Canadian wildfires continue to affect air quality across the U.S. DEEP expects smoke levels to exceed the Unhealthy level across Connecticut June 30, 2023.

Smoke from Canadian wildfires is creating unhealthy air across Connecticut and state officials are encouraging residents to be on alert.

That means certain groups of people are more susceptible to adverse health effects. The smoke can worsen a variety of medical conditions.

Air quality in Connecticut was especially poor on Friday, although it was slightly better on Saturday.

People with asthma and heart and lung conditions should avoid outdoor exercise while the air quality is poor, state health officials said. And people, regardless of their health, should reduce outdoor activities.

Residents are encouraged to close windows and doors to keep out smoke.

Health effects from wildfire smoke

During a period of bad air quality earlier in June, Connecticut saw an increase in asthma-related visits to the emergency department, particularly in children older than 5, said Dr. Manisha Juthani, the commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health.

“The health effects for some people may include chest tightness, shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing, eye irritation, chest pain, dizziness or lightheadedness, and other symptoms,” Juthani said in a statement.

Juthani said even healthy adults who spend “prolonged periods outdoors working or exercising should minimize exertion and take more breaks.”

About the Canadian wildfires

Wildfires have been burning across Canada in recent weeks. The wildfire smoke spilled into Connecticut in early June.

In this most recent round, Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said that wildfire smoke from Quebec is being funneled through western New York and Pennsylvania due to high pressure and northeast winds.

On Friday, the winds are shifting to the south, allowing for the plume to push into Connecticut, officials said.

Get alerts

Officials with Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection encourage residents to sign up to get daily air quality forecasts on the DEEP website or visit AirNow.gov.

Eric Aasen is executive editor at Connecticut Public, the statewide NPR and PBS service. He leads the newsroom, including editors, reporters, producers and newscasters, and oversees all local news, including radio, digital and television platforms. Eric joined Connecticut Public in 2022 from KERA, the NPR/PBS member station in Dallas-Fort Worth, where he served as managing editor and digital news editor. He's directed coverage of several breaking news events and edited and shaped a variety of award-winning broadcast and digital stories. In 2023, Connecticut Public earned a national Edward R. Murrow Award for coverage that explored 10 years since the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting, as well as five regional Murrow Awards, including Overall Excellence. In 2015, Eric was part of a KERA team that won a national Online Journalism Award. In 2017, KERA earned a station-record eight regional Murrow Awards, including Overall Excellence. Eric joined KERA after more than a decade as a reporter at The Dallas Morning News. A Minnesota native, Eric has wanted to be a journalist since he was in the third grade. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from DePauw University in Indiana, where he earned a political science degree. He and his wife, a Connecticut native, have a daughter and a son, as well as a dog and three cats.

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