Canada wildfire smoke leads to air quality alerts for Sunday, Monday

Smoke from Canada’s wildfires will continue to affect air quality in Indianapolis later this weekend and into early next week.

While Indianapolis did not issue an alert for Saturday, July 18, the city’s Office of Sustainability did issue Knozone Action Days for Sunday, July 19, and Monday, July 20, “due to high levels of particulate pollution.”

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management also issued Air Quality Action Days for Saturday, Sunday and Monday for portions of the state. Smoke will affect the air quality in northern and central Indiana through Monday, with heavy smoke lingering in the north due to a stationary front.

The air quality these days will be unhealthy for people in sensitive groups; those individuals should remain inside as much as possible. Vulnerable people include children, older adults, pregnant people, outdoor laborers and anyone with respiratory illnesses or heart disease.

“During Knozone Action Days, the air quality may become unhealthy for sensitive individuals due to increased ground-level ozone and/or fine particles — two of the most common pollutants in the United States,” the news release says.

Wildfire smoke contains fine particulate matter, which causes damage when it enters the lungs.

When air quality decreases due to particulate matter, the Office of Sustainability recommends residents try to reduce their own contributions to this type of pollution. This can be done by:

• Not burning trash, furniture, leaves or grass clippings (always illegal in Marion County)
• Avoid campfires, bonfires and barbecues until the air pollution clears up

All Hoosiers should take precautions during days with poor air quality and reduce their exposure to outdoor air, a news release from the city says.

These precautions include:

• Staying inside
• Keeping windows and doors closed
• Running an air conditioner if available
• Using a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) purifier if available
• Using the “recirculate air” function on a vehicle’s AC unit

Sunday and Monday will mark the fourth and fifth Knozone days for Indianapolis this year. The city recommends people who must be outside during days of high particulate matter wear N95 or P100 masks. Cloth or surgical masks will not protect people very well from the smoke, the release says.

Climate change exacerbates wildfire impacts

The long stretch of poor air quality stems in part from the fact that Canada’s fire season starts earlier and lasts longer than in the past, according to the Canadian Climate Institute. This makes it more difficult for firefighters to contain the blazes.

Forest fires occur naturally, but the CCI says fires are hotter and wilder today, causing greater destruction.

The last three fire seasons in Canada have been some of the worst on record. The CCI says climate change, largely from burning fossil fuels, is warming Canada twice as fast as the global average, putting that country’s boreal forests at greater risks of burning.

In the U.S., human-caused climate change has increased fire weather in the west, according to NASA. As the Earth warms, hotter weather combined with various other factors contributes to conditions that are prime for fires.

Resources for Hoosiers during poor air quality days

Indy’s Office of Sustainability and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management both provide resources for Hoosiers.

Indy’s Office of Sustainability regularly publishes information on Facebook, X and Instagram under the handle @SustainIndy.

The state’s SmogWatch website has air quality forecasts and an alert system users can sign up for.

Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at karl.schneider@indystar.com. Follow him on BlueSky or Twitter @karlstartswithk

IndyStar’s environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.