Michigan AQI: Canadian wildfire smoke blankets metro Detroit

Canadian wildfire smoke rolls into downtown Detroit overnight

Wildfire smoke from Canada has caused an Air Quality Alert for Michigan and this timelapse from overnight shows the visual impact.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - The entire state was experiencing some level of unhealthy air Thursday as smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to blanket metro Detroit.

Michigan air quality

Big picture view:

An Air Quality Alert is in effect for our area as the Canadian wildfires continue - and Detroit has among the worst breathing conditions in all of the world.

By the numbers:

The Air Quality Index Rating for Detroit is hovering around 500 Thursday, which is 200 points worse than the 301 mark that categorizes the breathing levels as "hazardous," which recommends everyone stay indoors as much as possible.

The Air Quality Index score ratings are:

0-50 GOOD — Little to no risk
51-100 — MODERATE — A small number of unusually sensitive people may have health concerns
101-150 — UNHEALTHY FOR SOME — People with heart/lung disease, older adults and children should limit outdoor activities
151-200 — UNHEALTHY — Everyone should limit outdoor activities, unusually sensitive people should remain indoors.
201-300 — VERY UNHEALTHY — Everyone should remain indoors as much as possible.
Any score beyond 301 is HAZARDOUS.

Local perspective:

FOX 2's Robin Murdoch was down by the Ambassador Bridge Thursday morning and although it looks very foggy, it is actually smoke.

Air Quality Alert continues from Canadian wildfires smoke

The haze is thick from smoke and breathing for everyone has gotten difficult outdoors.

How long will the smoke last?

Timeline:

The smoke will stay this bad for about 36-48 hours, with conditions beginning to improve later Friday afternoon.

Conditions will slowly improve throughout the night and into Saturday, with skies opening up by Sunday.

Can I go outside in the smoke?

What they're saying:

FOX 2 spoke to Dr. John Frith of the Allergy and Asthma Institute of Southeast Michigan.

"If you do need to go out, having a mask potentially, the N95, the KNN95 are some alternatives to that, just to minimize how much of that irritant you're bringing in," he said. "Because that's just trying to filter that out so at least you can go do what you need to do. So taking a little bit of break, less strenuous activity, things like that can also just minimize how that burden you're putting on the airways can be helpful."

Air quality from wildfires continue Thursday

Alan Longstreet has the forecast.

Other safety guidelines

It is recommended that, when possible, you avoid strenuous outdoor activities, especially those with heart disease and respiratory conditions like asthma.

Watch for symptoms including wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, dizziness, or burning in nose, throat, and
eyes.

You can help reduce air pollution by limiting activities, such as outdoor burning and use of residential wood burning devices.

Tips for households: Keep windows closed overnight to prevent smoke from getting indoors and, if possible, run central air conditioning with MERV-13 or higher rated filters.