With smoke and haze from Canadian wildfires persisting, air quality will be unhealthy again Wednesday, and advisory remains in effect till midnight

(Updated: 1:50 p.m.) Smoke and haze continue to blanket the region as wildfires in eastern Canada continue to burn and prevailing weather conditions push the smoke south over the eastern United States.

An air quality health advisory remains in effect until 11:59 p.m. tomorrow night, state environmental and health officials said in a press release issued this afternoon.

Air quality across Long Island and the New York City metro region is forecast to be unhealthy for all groups all day today and unhealthy for sensitive groups tomorrow.

The Riverhead Recreation Department closed all parks and outdoor recreational facilities and canceled all outdoor programs again today. The Riverhead Central School District canceled all outdoor activities again today, as well.

Exposure to fine particulates at the levels expected can cause short-term health effects such as irritation to the eyes, nose, and throat, coughing, sneezing, runny nose, and shortness of breath. It can also worsen medical conditions such as asthma and heart disease. People with heart or breathing problems, and children and the elderly may be particularly sensitive to fine particulates.

State health officials recommend:

• Limiting time outdoors to reduce exposure to smoke and keeping windows of homes and buildings closed.
• Limiting or minimizing outdoor activity when possible.
• People with health vulnerabilities, such as cardiovascular or lung disease, and those who are pregnant, should avoid prolonged exposure to the smoke.
• For those who must travel outdoors for significant periods, properly fitted, high-quality masks help reduce exposure.

Smoke and haze are expected to linger across Long Island all day today and into the evening, according to the National Weather Service. The conditions will push the Air Quality Index (AQI) into a range considered unhealthy for all groups again today.

The AQI is a shorthand way of describing air quality for two pollutants, ground-level ozone (smog) and fine particulate matter (tiny solid particles or liquid droplets in the air that are 2.5 microns or less in diameter.) Health advisories are issued by New York State when the AQI is forecast to exceed a value of 100.

The forecasted AQI for Long Island today is 155 (unhealthy for all groups.)

The air quality index for fine particles across Long Island was 162 at 7 a.m. and higher in New York City, according to the AirNow website hosted by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and other air quality monitoring agencies. The AQI in NYC at 7 a.m. was 223, which is in the very unhealthy (201-300) range.