YORK, Pa. — As Canadian wildfires continue to rip through parts of western and eastern provinces, Pennsylvanians could once again feel the impacts of poor air quality.
Zachary Barber, Clean Air Advocate for PennEnvironment, says quantifying air quality can be difficult, as air pollution can’t always be seen. However, its effects can be felt by people.
“Some of the main forms of air pollution that we look at that are often what we’re thinking of when we say, ‘dirty air’ are things like particulate matter or soot pollution, tiny, microscopic particles of air pollution that travel deep in our body that are linked to things like asthma or cancer, premature death,” Barber said.
Earlier this year, air quality in Pennsylvania was significantly impacted by the smoke from the Canadian wildfires. The smoke caused several burn bans and restricted airline travel. Those who suffered from asthma or other respiratory diseases were encouraged to remain indoors to not compromise their immune system.
Although air quality gradually returned to healthier levels, Barber expects another drop in quality as the weather gets colder and people power on their heaters.
“Those can be incredible sources of air pollution directly, especially for people in that home or nearby, and so that’s one way as the weather turns cold, we would expect a meaningful increase in air pollution,” Barber said.
Barber says the leading contributor to poor air quality is climate change. Many heaters are powered by fossil fuels. The emissions generated travel upward and are correlated to global warming.
“Our existing air pollution problems are actually likely to get worse as climate change continues and so we’ll see that partially playing out as wildfires like the ones we experienced throughout the summer become more common, we’ll have big events like that leading to big spikes in air pollution,” Barber described.
Despite the risks of poor air quality, there are actions you can take to mitigate its effects on your health.
“People can look into getting in-home air filters like a portable space heater, or a humidifier,” Barber said.
You can also check the air quality by visiting the Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality Index. Enter your zip code and the page will display the current air quality for that area. Knowing your air quality can help you make informed decisions about what is best for your health.