Air quality will be “much improved” today across the region as smoke from Canadian wildfires has “generally pushed out of the area,” according to the National Weather Service in Upton.
An air quality health advisory remains in effect for the local area until 11:59 p.m. today. The forecast air quality index today in the Long Island Region is 120, which is “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” according to the State Department of Environmental Conservation. The pollutant of concern is fine particulates. See NYS DEC AQI index.
The Twin Forks and southeastern Connecticut may still see unhealthy air quality for all groups today, the weather service said this morning. Air quality index readings over the past two days have exceeded 150, which is the threshold for the “unhealthy for all groups” AQI classification.
According to the EPA’s AirNow website, the AQI for Riverhead as of 5 a.m. was 79, which is considered “moderate.”
For more information on the AQI, see “AQI Basics” on the EPA’s AirNow website.
The NWS forecast is currently calling for mostly cloudy skies with haze and patchy smoke this morning. There is a slight chance of showers this morning, then a chance of showers with a slight chance of thunderstorms this afternoon. Some thunderstorms may produce gusty winds and small hail this afternoon, according to the NWS forecast.
Hundreds of wildfires continue to burn out of control in Canadian forests. As of yesterday there were 145 wildfires burning in the eastern province of Quebec, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center. A weather system off the coast of Nova Scotia, southeast of Quebec, drove smoke from the Quebec fires south and east, causing record levels of air pollution in the New York metro region this week.
Shifting weather patterns this weekend should bring relief to the metro New York/Long Island region, according to the National Weather Service.
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