Wildfire Smoke, Haze Return To Connecticut: What To Know

CONNECTICUT — Smoke and haze from Canada’s long-burning wildfires are prompting a new round of air quality alerts in Connecticut and elsewhere in North America.

Winds were expected to blow some from the Canadian wildfires back into the Northeast on Monday, resulting in some haze, according to the National Weather Service.

The air quality index in the western half of Connecticut was forecast to be below 50 on Monday, which is within the "good" risk level, according to airnow.gov. On the eastern side, the air quality rating slips down to "moderate." According to the NWS, that translates to is acceptable quality, with "some health concern for a small number of unusually sensitive individuals."

Smoke and haze weren’t expected to obscure city skylines, as they did in June, but even moderate air quality can be unhealthy for some individuals. Back in early June, the level of particulate matter in the air above Connecticut caused decreased visibility, and the smoke from the fires creating an orange haze. It got so bad that the Connecticut Department of Public Health recommended that people with asthma or heart and lung conditions avoid outdoor exercise some days.

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Early Monday, the worst air quality in the country was just off the East Coast, according to a visualization of the airnow.gov data by The New York Times. Most coastal areas from Florida to the Northeast had moderate air quality.

The Canada wildfire season started early this year, and above-average wildfire activity is expected to continue through October in some places. The United States has seen very little wildfire activity this year, although the potential for wildfires through October is above-average in parts of the Pacific Northwest, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and some Mid-Atlantic states.