Canadian wildfire smoke: Hazy skies but air quality in Philly region remains good

This story is part of the WHYY News Climate Desk, bringing you news and solutions for our changing region.

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Leading into last weekend, satellite imagery showed a massive smoke plume spanning 3,000 miles from Montana to the Atlantic coast. The plume, the result of dozens of western Canadian wildfires, touched off a state of emergency and evacuations in the province of Saskatchewan.

Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware experienced the harmful effects of wildfire smoke from Canada in the summer of 2023. “Morning Edition” host Jennifer Lynn spoke with Susan Phillips of WHYY’s Climate Desk about what to expect this summer.

Jennifer Lynn: Remember that, Susan?

Susan Phillips: I definitely remember that orange haze that filled the sky — and of course, all the pollution that’s associated with that. You know, it may have created stunning sunsets, but as you recall, people with heart conditions, lung conditions, and other sensitive parts of the population were told to stay inside and limit their time outdoors.

JL: Yeah, and help us understand what happened in 2023 to bring that wildfire smoke from Canada to our area.

SP: So, the number of wildfires was unprecedented. They were closer. There were a lot of wildfires in Quebec. And also, just weather conditions make a difference — a huge difference. So, the wind was blowing in our direction, and atmospheric conditions made it so that the smoke was pushed down to ground level rather than staying up in the atmosphere, which it often does.

JL: We had the orange skies, the air quality. It was very interesting because, you know, we look at the air quality meter — sometimes it’s provided by the experts — and you’ll see green, you might see a little bit of yellow or something, but this was off the charts.

SP: Yes, it was. As you recall, there were multiple red Air Quality [Index] days, which meant that it was unsafe for all of us to be outside — not just the sensitive groups. And I don’t know if you remember, Jennifer, but there were also purple and maroon days in certain little parts of the state. I don’t think anyone had even heard of purple and maroon days until those wildfires.

JL: Yeah, not at all. So, I just want to underscore: This system with the fire haze coming through in the U.S. — it’s going to treat us a little bit differently this time around, right? The haze will be a lot higher. It’s less likely to impact our air quality, right?

SP: That’s right. That’s what the National Weather Service is predicting right now — that the air quality is not going to be impacted in our region.

JL: And so far, so many acres have burned across Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Are they talking about acreage yet?

SP: So far, they’re saying about 1.7 million acres have burned across both Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and that’s according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

JL: Yeah, that sounds huge. Well, the haze consists of pollutants, and we can measure them with our Air Quality Index. What is this index actually indicating? How does it collect samples to even determine the quality of the air we breathe?

SP: Yeah, so, there are a lot of air monitoring posts that they can collect samples from. But the largest pollutant — and the most worrisome from these fires — is particulate matter, which you get from any kind of smoke, right? If you’re out at a campfire, you’re going to be breathing particulate matter. And the worst is PM2.5, and that 2.5 refers to the size of the particles. It’s especially bad for children, the elderly, pregnant women, and anyone with asthma or COPD — anyone that’s particularly sensitive to bad air quality can really be impacted by that.

JL: It’s important to stay safe from the smoky air. When the air quality is harmful, we’re encouraged to take it easy, avoid, you know, overexertion, a lot of exercise outside. Some people even mask up or stay indoors.

SP: Yeah, I don’t know if you remember, but we were all going outside with N95 masks on, and we were told to, you know, close the windows, run the air conditioner.

JL: Susan, in your reporting, what are you discovering about wildfire season — its length and potency — as it relates to climate change?

SP: So, climate scientists definitely say that climate change is impacting wildfire season, making it both longer and more intense. One of the things about what’s happening in Canada right now is there was extreme heat during the end of May — like, the highs in Saskatchewan and Manitoba reached 91 degrees. So if you combine the heat, if you combine a drought situation that’s happening, and also certain atmospheric conditions — that kind of intense heat and weather can supercharge these wildfires.