Canadian wildfire smoke reaches South Florida, bringing ‘unhealthy air quality’
The smoky haze from Canadian wildfires that blanketed South Florida should be less dense Wednesday, forecasters said.
Much of South Florida, from downtown West Palm Beach to downtown Miami, had poor air quality Tuesday, with some areas classified as in the unhealthy air quality range.
“Hazy skies are likely through at least Wednesday and the lack of much rainfall to help clear the air will mean that any smoke trapped near the surface tonight could lead to fog development,” the National Weather Service said.
Nearly the entire state of Florida experienced poorer air quality conditions Tuesday, with some areas ranging on the U.S. Air Quality Index from moderate to unhealthy for sensitive groups and unhealthy, according to an interactive map from AirNow, maintained by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other government agencies.
States along the southeastern U.S. and Gulf coast were affected by the wildfire smoke, the map shows, though Florida and Georgia were the only states with areas in the red, unhealthy range, the AirNow map showed.
Nearly all of Palm Beach County and Broward County were in the unhealthy range between Tuesday afternoon and evening, according to the AirNow map, while the majority of Miami-Dade County was in the moderate range.
The hazy skies were lingering Tuesday evening due to a northeasterly flow continuing to bring in the smoky air from eastern Canada, the National Weather Service Miami said in an area forecast discussion about 8 p.m. The main effect locally has been lowering visibility and dryness limiting rain, but the smoke is expected to let up overnight.
The Na tional Weather Service Melbourne said in a post on X that smoke from a wildfire in Quebec reached the area Monday.
Nearly 800 wildfires were actively burning across Canada as of Tuesday, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre’s dashboard, with almost half classified as out of control. The BC Wildfire Service defines out-of-control fires as those that aren’t responding to suppression and are continuing to spread. The majority of the active fires were in British Columbia.
A map from the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System shows several fire hotspots in southeastern Canada on Monday. The provinces on the Atlantic and to the north of New York and Vermont were at a moderate to high fire-danger level on Monday.
Canadian officials said in its National Wildland Fire Situation Report published late last month that there were just under 6,500 fires to date in 2023, spanning a total of 17.9 million hectares, or the equivalent of abut 44.2 million acres.
“The number of fires is well above average for this time of year, and well above the average for area burned for this time of year,” the report said.
“While Florida’s air quality has remained relatively unaffected this summer from these fires, a weather pattern is pushing further to the south than previous times this year and is transporting the smoke,” Jon Moore, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Southeast District, said in an email Tuesday night.
The state’s air quality is usually classified in the “good” range, he said.
“Floridians who are at risk to respiratory ailments may want to take precaution when going outdoors in affected areas in the state,” Moore said.
South Florida had PM 2.5 particle pollution, which the EPA defines as “fine inhalable particles” and are the greatest health risk of the variety. They’re extremely tiny, with diameters of 2.5 micrometers or less. That’s about 30 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair, according to the EPA.
Particles that small can get deep into lungs or reach the bloodstream, according to the EPA. They also harm the environment by settling on land or water, depending on the chemical makeup. The fine particles can turn bodies of water acidic and shift nutrient balances and damage forests or crops, among other effects.
Children, teens, older adults and people with heart or lung disease should avoid strenuous activities outside and keep outdoor activities to a minimum to reduce exposure. If not in those categories, people can walk outside rather than run to avoid breathing in as much and shorten the amount of time outside, according to AirNow.
“Your chances of being affected by particles increase the more strenuous your activity and the longer you are active outdoors,” according to an EPA informational brochure on particle pollution.
The smoky air took a backward path to South Florida. A cold front boundary moved through the area Monday night, bringing the wildfire smoke over the waters of the Atlantic and into South Florida behind it, said Sammy Hadi, a National Weather Service Miami meteorologist.
