Air quality alert issued for northwestern Minnesota – InForum

ST. PAUL — An air quality alert has been issued for northwestern Minnesota through Thursday, Sept. 5.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said smoke from numerous wildfires across the Saskatchewan province in Canada will travel south into northwestern Minnesota from the early evening on Wednesday through Thursday morning. The alert takes effect at 5 pm, Wednesday, Sept. 4, and runs until 11 am Thursday and includes the areas of Moorhead, Bemidji, East Grand Forks, and the tribal nations of Leech Lake and Red Lake.

Air quality is expected to reach the Orange (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups) air quality index category across the alert area, but should improve by Thursday afternoon, as cleaner air moves in on northerly winds.

In areas where air quality is in the orange category, the sky may look hazy and residents may smell smoke even when wildfires are far away, the MPCA said in a release.

This air is unhealthy for sensitive groups and pollution may aggravate heart and lung disease as well as cardiovascular and respiratory conditions. Symptoms may include chest pain, shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing and fatigue, the release said. Sensitive groups include those who have asthma or other breathing conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, people who have heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes, people who are pregnant, and children and the elderly.

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