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Air quality advisory continues for sensitive groups

The sky around Mirror Lake in the village of Lake Placid was hazy Monday, July 17. Smoke from Canadian wildfires prompted New York state government officials to issue air quality advisories on Monday and Tuesday. (News photo — Andy Flynn)

SARANAC LAKE — The air quality in the Tri-Lakes region is expected to be unhealthy for sensitive groups on Tuesday, July 18.

An Air Quality Index value of 135 is predicted for Saranac Lake and surrounding areas Tuesday, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow.gov Air Quality Index, or AQI, reporting tool. That means the air quality will be OK for most people but unhealthy for those with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens.

The New York departments of Health and Environmental Conservation issued a statewide air quality advisory on Sunday that was in effect from midnight to 11:59 p.m. on Monday because air quality was projected to reach “unhealthy” levels. On Monday afternoon, that advisory was extended through 11:59 p.m. Tuesday.

When outdoor AQI levels are elevated, going indoors may reduce exposure, according to the DEC. If there are significant indoor sources of smoke — such as tobacco, candle or incense smoke, or fumes from cooking — levels inside may not be lower than outside.

Some ways to reduce exposure are to minimize outdoor and indoor sources and avoid strenuous activities in areas where fine particle concentrations are high.

The air quality issues seen at various times throughout this summer comes as historic wildfires continue to burn in Quebec and follows a bout of severe flooding in the central Adirondacks last week.

Scientists say that the frequency of extreme weather — such as last week’s flooding and the ongoing wildfires — will increase as the climate warms.

Paul Smith’s College biology professor Curt Stager told the News last week that extreme weather events such as the recent flooding in Long Lake are “directly the result of burning fossil fuels on such a large scale for so long.”

Smoke from the wildfires in Quebec is impacting a broad swath of the United States. Parts of Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and New York state hit AQI levels above 150 on Monday, meaning the air quality was considered unhealthy for everyone.

On Monday, there were 907 active fires still raging in Canada, with 587 considered “out of control,” according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

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