The National Weather Service has announced an air quality advisory tied to wildfires in Canada.
The agency said the advisory will be in effect until midnight July 15.
At the same time, the area is facing a heat advisory from noon to 8 p.m.
The air advisory is due to ongoing wildfires in Canada which has spread smoke across the Great Lakes region.
“The smoke may dim the sun and create colorful sunrises and sunsets. Where smoke is the thickest and reaching the surface, reduced visibilities, and a campfire smell may be evident at times,” the weather service said.
In Stark County, Terri Dzienis, the Canton air pollutions control director, announced an air quality advisory that is expected to last for a couple of days.
“Due to elevated concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) moving into our area from Canadian wildfires. Levels of PM2.5 are predicted to increase throughout the day and remain elevated through Friday, July 17,” a Canton City Public Health news release said.
Who is at risk?
Sensitive groups are most affected during the air quality advisory. That includes children, the elderly and those with breathing difficulties. The weather service advises those groups to monitor their outdoor activity and check air quality readings at airnow.gov.
What about the heat advisory?
Northern Ohio should expect a heat index up to 104 degrees. Temperatures trend cooler Thursday, July 16, but will still be in the upper 80s to low 90s, the weather service said.
What to do during heat advisory
The weather service advises Ohioans to:
What counties are under the air quality advisory?
What counties are under the heat advisory?
Several more counties are under the heat advisory they include: Lucas, Wood, Ottawa, Sandusky, Erie, Lorain, Cuyahoga, Hancock, Seneca, Huron, Medina, Summit, Portage, Trumbull, Wyandot, Crawford, Richland, Ashland, Wayne, Stark, Mahoning, Marion, Morrow, Holmes and Knox.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Smoke from Canadian wildfires to impact air quality across NE Ohio
Reporting by Aaron Hughes, Canton Repository / The Repository
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Aaron Hughes, Canton Repository | USA TODAY Network
