Winds push smoke from Canadian wildfires south into US and compromise air quality WSOC TV [Video]

Air quality in some parts of the United States is being compromised as smoke from dozens of wildfires in Canada travels south, pushed by winds high in the atmosphere.

Air quality in Arrowhead, Minnesota, is deemed unhealthy for people and animals sensitive to pollution and other airborne particles, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow page.

Moderate air quality is being reported across other parts of northeastern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, the Chicago area, southwestern Michigan and the state’s eastern Upper Peninsula, northern Indiana and western Ohio.

Over the next day or so, particulates from the burning trees, leaves and other vegetation could reach further south into Oklahoma, Tennessee and Arkansas, said Patrick Ayd, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Duluth, Minnesota.

What is AQI and who is at risk?

The Air Quality Index — AQI — measures how clean or polluted the air we breathe is on a daily basis. The index focuses on the health effects that …