Air quality health advisory issued due to wildfire smoke in Canada – City of Syracuse

More than 160 wildfires are currently burning in Quebec, Canada, sending smoke and other combustion products south, prompting air quality warnings for central New York and the city of Syracuse .

According airnow.gov, the air quality for the city of Syracuse today was 197 (as of 4:00 PM), which places the city in the red zone. That means it’s unhealthy for sensitive groups, including those with chronic health conditions and pre-existing conditions, to be outdoors. People in affected groups, as well as the elderly and young children, are encouraged to avoid strenuous outdoor activities and stay indoors. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has has issued an air quality warning until midnight tonight. For more information on the notice, visit https://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/34985.html or call the Air Quality Helpline at 800-535-1345.

Advisory Details

• The pollutant concerned is: Fine particles
• The notice will be effective from 00h00 to 23h59

City activities

Due to the Air Quality Health Advisory in effect until midnight tonight, Syracuse Parks and Recreation will be canceling all outdoor activities. These include outdoor fitness classes at Burnet Park and Meachem Field. For more information on park scheduling or cancellations, visit www.syracuse.recdesk.com

In case of emergency

If you or someone you know is experiencing a health emergency or air quality respiratory issues, you can call 9-1-1. If you are concerned about the smell of smoke and are considering calling 9-1-1 due to a possible fire, please gather as much information as possible before calling. This will help mitigate fire department deployment in the event of potential false alarms. It is important that members of public safety are available for fire calls.

A Note on the DEC Air Quality Index: The Department of Environmental Conservation and the health department issue air quality health advisories when DEC meteorologists predict that pollution levels, whether ozone or fine particulate matter, are expected to exceed an Air Quality Index value (AQI) of 100. The AQI was created as an easy way to correlate levels of different pollutants on a scale, with a higher AQI value indicating a greater health concern. For more information, visit dec.ny.gov

Reduce your exposure:

1. Stay indoors with the windows closed.
2. Keep activity levels low.
3. Avoid using anything in your home that burns (wood fireplace, stove, candles, incense).
4. Do not smoke.
5. Do not vacuum unless it has HEPA filtration.
6. Be careful if the weather is hot. If it’s too hot to stay inside with the windows closed, or if you’re in a risk group, go somewhere else with filtered air.

Wear masks:

1. Don’t rely on “dust” masks. They are not designed to trap such small particles.
2. Scarves and bandanas will not prevent particle inhalation.
3. N-95 or KN-95 masks, reminiscent of our heightened risk COVID days, will help if you HAVE to be outside for a while.

(Last update: 6.6.2023 1:44 p.m.)