More air quality alerts are likely on the horizon for Minnesota this summer and into the future as wildfires become larger and more frequent due to warmer weather and drier conditions, state officials say.
“Right now, they’ve [Canadian wildfires] quieted down a little bit, but likely in the next week or two, they might ramp back up again, and we may see continued smoke impacts through the summer,” said David Brown, an environmental meteorologist with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
Wildfire smoke from Minnesota’s neighbor to the north has been drifting into the state this summer as numerous fires continue to burn across Canada. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) issued multiple air quality alerts last week as hazy conditions spread across the Twin Cities metro and several other parts of the state.
The bulk of the alerts this summer have included northern and northwestern parts of the state closest to the border, which experience some of the worst levels of pollution from the wildfires, although some alerts affected the entire state and included hazy air in the Twin Cities that noticeably smelled of smoke.
Sahan Journal spoke with officials at the state health and pollution control agencies about the increase in wildfire pollution, and how Minnesotans can protect themselves from bad air.
How is the smoke getting here?
Fires across Canada have been burning since early May, ranging in intensity as rain and cooler weather in mid-May slowed the fires down before warmer and drier conditions ramped up activity in recent weeks, said Brown.
That ebb and flow of fire intensity coincides with weather systems that move east to west across central Canada, which drag the smoke down into Minnesota, he said.
“As a weather system comes through ahead of it, the weather becomes warmer and drier with southerly winds, and that fuels the fires and gets them to produce more smoke,” he said. “Then that system comes through and the northerly winds behind that will pull the smoke plumes down into the U.S.”
Fires closer to Minnesota in eastern Manitoba and northwest Ontario, including fires just 100 miles north of Lake of the Woods, can have larger impacts because the smoke travels shorter distances and does not disperse as much before arriving.
Minnesota is more likely to get smoke from fires in Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, although the state has seen smoke from fires in northern Alberta, and even as far away as northeast British Columbia and the Northwest Territories, Brown said.
What are the health impacts of inhaling smoke?
Wildfire smoke can make it harder to breathe for anyone, said Jessie Carr, environmental epidemiologist at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). Health impacts of that inhalation can range from relatively minor effects like eye or throat irritation to more serious conditions like asthma attacks, heart failure and death.
The pollution from the smoke can also affect the body’s ability to remove harmful pathogens like viruses and bacteria, which can attach themselves to the smoke particles and enter the body more easily, Carr said.
“The smoke acts like an irritant, so when it’s inhaled into our sinuses, our throats, our lungs, it acts like sandpaper in there and gets everything inflamed,” she said. “That inflammation can open up the blood vessels, especially in the lower lung where those small particles can pass into, and it can get into the bloodstream.”
Carr said MDH data shows an increase in emergency department visits across the state due to respiratory conditions associated with wildfire smoke, namely on the same day or the day following air quality alerts.
Who is most at risk?
Groups who are most vulnerable during poor air quality days include children, older individuals, pregnant people and people with chronic conditions like asthma, lung or heart disease and other immuno-compromising conditions.
Those groups are more likely to be impacted at lower levels of exposure, Carr said.
RELATED STORIES
How can people protect themselves?
The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a system developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide daily air quality measurements. The scale ranges from good, denoted with the color green, to hazardous, which is shown with a maroon color. Alerts issued this summer in Minnesota have ranged from orange, which means the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups, to purple, which means the air is very unhealthy for everyone.
Air quality alerts are issued when the AQI reaches orange level.
State officials recommend staying up to date with information shared by state agencies, using air quality monitoring apps, and limiting outdoor activities when there are air quality alerts.
“We kind of hate to hear this in the summer but if we can reduce the intensity of our exercise or strenuous work, if possible, that is one way to really limit and minimize exposure,” Carr said.
Information about air quality can be found at:
- Current Air Quality conditions on the MPCA website
- Interactive map from the EPA
- AirNow Mobile App
Officials also recommend keeping indoor air as clean as possible during poor air quality days by using an air filtration system, or using air conditioning through central air or window units.
They also recommend avoiding activities that increase air pollution in the home, such as smoking, vacuuming, frying food, burning candles or incense, or using a gas stove. Those activities can lower indoor air quality and make it harder for the body to recover.
Lastly, Carr said that if you must go outside, it is recommended to wear a mask, namely a tight-fitting N95 mask.
“When they have a good fit, those can block out a lot of particles,” she said. “That is something that are an important part of protecting against the most harmful exposures.”
What are officials doing to reach diverse communities?
Carr said current hospitalization data only allows officials to see patients’ demographic information like region, age and whether someone identifies as unhoused. Race and ethnicity are not collected by hospitals when patients seek treatment.
MDH has started working on improving data collection to identify if there are disparate impacts on diverse communities, and determine how data-informed guidance can be shared with them.
In the meantime, Carr said the agency released guidance about wildfire smoke and extreme heat specific to children after receiving requests from child care centers and school districts across the state.
Is this the new normal?
According to the MPCA, there were 49 air quality alerts in Minnesota in 2023 compared to 26 in 2021. The last time the number of air quality alerts was close to that in recent years was in 2005, which had 20 alerts. Alerts in the 2000s were mostly due to ozone whereas the bulk of alerts in recent years are due to wildfire smoke.
Brown said once the wildfires get going and grow in size, it takes a long time to contain them and for the weather to help limit their spread. The fires, and drier conditions where they are located, are expected to continue through the summer, he said, adding that conditions usually don’t improve until September.
“The fire weather outlooks that we’ve seen indicate above normal activity to continue through August,” Brown said.
A trend towards warmer weather and increased drought conditions across parts of Canada that don’t typically experience large fires is expected to make wildfires more frequent and, in turn, result in more smoke travelling down to Minnesota.
“There’s a lot of available fuel for these fires as these new areas start to burn, so it’s unfortunate, but it’s a trend that likely will continue,” Brown said.
