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Air quality in Eastern Iowa at ‘unhealthy’ level as wildfire smoke descends from Canada
People are advised to reduce long or intense activities, and take more breaks during outdoor activities
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A portion of eastern and northeast Iowa has “unhealthy” air quality Wednesday, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The air quality has diminished this week as smoke from Canadian wildfires has moved south.
The EPA’s airnow.gov website on Wednesday showed the Air Quality Index — AQI — was measuring red for a portion of the state from the northeast quadrant, stretching south west. Cities included in the red are Cedar Rapids, Marengo, Williamsburg, Central City, Monticello, Dubuque, Manchester and Guttenberg.
The AQI measures how clean or polluted the air is based on ground-level ozone, particle pollution, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide.
The index ranges from green, where air quality is satisfactory and air pollution poses little or no risk, to maroon, which is considered hazardous. Red is the fourth-highest measurement on the six-step scale. It is considered “unhealthy,” whereas the orange area, which on Wednesday morning covered almost all of the eastern half of Iowa, is considered “unhealthy for sensitive groups.”
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources on Tuesday issued a statewide Air Quality Alert through 6 a.m. Thursday. The agency warned that the AQI may reach the red category.
Parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan were rated “very unhealthy” -- the fifth-highest level -- on Tuesday. Hennepin Healthcare, the main emergency hospital in Minneapolis, reported it had seen a slight increase in visits by patients with respiratory symptoms aggravated by the dirty air, the AP reported Tuesday.
The DNR recommends that while the air quality is unhealthy, people should reduce long or intense activities, and take more breaks during outdoor activities until air quality conditions improve. This recommendation is especially pertinent to individuals with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teenagers and outdoor workers. People in these categories should consider rescheduling or moving outdoor activities indoors.
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