The Air Quality Health Advisory Continues For Most Of New York Friday

The smoke from the wildfires burning in Minnesota and Canada is continuing to affect all of New York State again today, and the DEC has issued another air quality health advisory for today.

It's still unsafe to go outside today...for now

While many forecasters believe the air quality will be improving over the weekend due to a cold front with some incoming rain that could push the smoke south of us, they're also still anticipating unsafe air quality for today for all of New York state.

Western New York appears to be getting the worst of it with Niagara, Orleans, Genesee, Erie, Wyoming, Chautauqua, and Cattaraugus counties all seeing an unhealthy range for sensitive groups.

The DEC and NYSDOH have issued an air quality health advisory for Friday, July 17th. To see the forecasted AQI, click here.

On Thursday, the AQI rating was anywhere between 163 and 234 (Unhealthy to Very Unhealthy) throughout the day depending on where you were in Western New York.

What is an AQI rating?

An AQI number is a number that represents an Air Quality Index. It's meant to show how clean or polluted your air is.

The numbers correspond with these categories:

• 0-50 (Good): Little or no health risk.
• 51-100 (Moderate): Acceptable for most people.
• 101-150 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups): Children, older adults and people with heart or lung disease should limit prolonged outdoor activity.
• 151-200 (Unhealthy): Everyone may begin experiencing health effects.
• 201-300 (Very Unhealthy): Health alert for the general public.
• 301-500 (Hazardous): Avoid outdoor activity.

What should you do during an air quality advisory?

During an air quality advisory, officials are encouraging people to avoid strenuous outdoor activities, stay indoors if possible, keep their windows and doors closed, and run an air purifier inside. You can track local conditions on the New York DEC Air Quality page.