Louisiana air quality improves as wildfire smoke dissipates and ozone pollution drops

The air in Louisiana was again safe for everyone to breathe on Friday after smoke blowing across the U.S. from Canadian wildfires dissipated and ozone pollution levels in the state decreased.

The Air Quality Index in Louisiana has dropped from the Department of Environmental Quality’s orange level to green. This could partially be due to thunderstorms blowing away some ozone chemicals in the air.

The AQI notes how breathable the air is by tracking ozone chemicals and particulate matter, such as smoke, which can be harmful to breathe. When the AQI is at the orange level, the air is harmful for sensitive people, such as the elderly and people with respiratory diseases like asthma. At the green level, the air is safe for everyone.

There is still some smoke in the Louisiana air, but it’s hard to tell if it is the result of wildfires in Canada or at home.

There were 12 fires raging in Louisiana on Friday, most of them along the Mississippi River. Three were medium-sized and the rest only light fires.

There were also a handful of small- and medium-sized fires in Mississippi close to the Louisiana border.

DEQ officials said that the Canadian smoke may still be in the air, but it would only be a light layer.