Experts said rural and urban environments around Michigan are equally vulnerable to deteriorating air quality due to the Canadian wildfires.
The National Weather Service in Gaylord reported leftover smoke pushed to the south will move back into Northern Michigan today (Thursday).
The air quality index is color coded and measures air pollution in an area. The higher the AQI, the worse the air quality is.
“I think the message is just really if you do have underlying issues with asthma or any other lung conditions then be especially wary of the levels of P.M. (particulate matter) 2.5 and heed those recommendations,” health officer for the Northwest Michigan Health Department Daniel Thorell said.
Thorell said he has not dealt with an issue like this in his over twenty-year career until now.
It is hard to predict how long the smoke will affect regions across the United States. Thorell said living in a rural area may not mitigate the health impacts.
“It’s going to depend on where you’re at, what the level is at that location, and taking that information and looking at what the recommendations are for that,” Thorell said. “The worse it is you know of course the more stringent the recommendation would be. For instance, staying indoors or something like that.”