Smoke from the Canadian wildfires is once again returning to Michigan this week.
An air quality alert was issued Monday in the Upper Peninsula and is expected to extend south of the Mackinac Bridge to the rest of the state Tuesday, before moving back out of the region Tuesday night.
Sean Christensen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Gaylord, said Michigan residents shouldn’t be too concerned with the frequent air quality advisories.
“The biggest issue with it is elevated levels of fine particular matter. It’s only unhealthy for sensitive groups right now so it doesn’t affect all ranges of people,” he said. “Unfortunately it’s just a year where there’s a lot of Canadian wildfires that keep bringing that smoke-filled air down to the great lakes region and a lot of the US is obviously experiencing it.”
Christensen advises sensitive groups, such as children and older adults, to protect themselves from exposure, by limiting their time spent outdoors.
