Wildfire Smoke Returns to D.C.

By Kayla Benjamin WI Climate & Environment Reporter

Smoke from Canadian wildfires once again drifted into the District last week, causing a Code Red air quality alert Thursday. The alert for “unhealthy air” came just three weeks after the U.S. northeast—including the DMV region—experienced its worst air quality on record.

The air pollution spike at the end of the month was not nearly as severe as the one we saw in early June. Still, having another Code Red day so soon after the ones earlier in the month underscores a really important fact: this problem is not going away anytime soon.

Dr. Joseph L. Wilkins, a leading wildfire and air pollution expert and Howard University professor, said he was “not at all” surprised to see the smoke return to our region last week.

“We're heading into the beginning of the fire season, really—we're not even in July yet,” he said. “So we could actually see way more of this; it just depends on how much more fuels there are to burn and what direction the winds are going to go.”

AIR QUALITY ISN’T JUST ABOUT AIR—IT’S ABOUT YOUR HEALTH

Since more smoke-filled days will likely come our way this summer, it’s important that D.C. residents and families be ready for them. Unhealthy air quality poses particularly high risks to sensitive populations, which include:

• Anyone with heart or lung issues

• Pregnant people

• Seniors, and

• Children and teens

However, Code Red, Purple or Maroon alerts (“unhealthy,” “very unhealthy,” and “hazardous,” respectively) indicate that everyone should be thinking about air pollution when making decisions about their day.

“This is something that can cause a lot of health issues,” Wilkins said. Those can include “acute issues like asthma flare-ups, full-on asthma attacks or bronchitis” as well as longer-term issues, such as increased risks for heart and lung diseases.

Stay In The Know

One of the most important things people can do to protect themselves from the health harms that air pollution poses is staying informed. You can check the real-time air quality near you at airnow.gov; the site also hosts a map of wildfire smoke throughout the country. Most weather apps also show information on daily air quality.

Chris Rodriguez, director of D.C.’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA), also encourages all District residents to sign up for AlertDC and/or follow the @ AlertDC account on Twitter.

“Our role is to really provide consistent guidance, not directives, but guidance, based on federal guidance from the Environmental Protection Agency,” Rodriguez said.

Read more on www.washingtoninformer.com WI

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