Smoke from Canadian wildfires hung over areas from downtown West Palm Beach to downtown Miami on Tuesday, bringing haze and poorer air quality with parts of South Florida classified in the unhealthy air quality range.
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 was the only state with areas in the red, unhealthy range, the AirNow map shows.
All of Palm Beach County was in the unhealthy range, according to the AirNow map, as were areas of western Broward County and from Pompano Beach south to Oakland Park. The Fort Lauderdale area south into northern Miami-Dade County was in the range considered unhealthy for sensitive groups.
And here is a view a little further north from Downtown West Palm Beach this afternoon.https://t.co/jDZ7aPJoPA
— NWS Miami (@NWSMiami) October 3, 2023
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.
“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 weather service said in an area forecast discussion about 3 p.m.