The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection issued a statewide air quality advisory for fine particulate matter through Monday at midnight. There is a possibility for severe weather across the state through Thursday.
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a statewide air quality advisory for fine particulate matter through Monday at midnight. As with previous air quality incidents this summer, the source are wildfires in Canada.
Nick Webb, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Charleston, said storms moving through the state might bring temporary relief.
“I don’t think it would last before [the smoke] would move back in,” he said. “Essentially, the rain would help bring that particulate matter down to the ground level almost.”
Webb said the smoke and haze should start to clear up Tuesday as winds shift to blow east.
“Any sustained relief, that’s going to depend on the wind direction in the upper levels of the atmosphere,” he said.
There is a possibility for severe weather across the state through Thursday.
“Today is a slight risk for severe weather with damaging winds being the main threat along with torrential rainfall,” Webb said. “Probably the more significant system we’re looking at is Wednesday and Thursday that right now looks to affect mainly the southern half of the state.”
Though the National Weather Service has predicted a change in weather patterns dispersing visible smoke, air quality levels throughout much of West Virginia are still affected by Canadian wildfire smoke.
Though the National Weather Service has predicted a change in weather patterns dispersing visible smoke, air quality levels throughout much of West Virginia are still affected by Canadian wildfire smoke.
“We know that wildfires, unfortunately, are worse this year than they have ever been in Canada, earlier in the season, and the result of those wildfires is a lot of smoke, which is dependent on winds and other weather conditions,” said Albert Rizzo, chief medical officer at the American Lung Association.
Rizzo said high-risk groups should avoid spending time outdoors over the holiday weekend and keep their emergency medication with them.
“Everybody wants to be with their family, they want to participate in the events over the weekend,” Rizzo said. “But I think you need to be aware of the air quality. And certainly, if it’s up in the area where everybody gets affected, everybody needs to take those precautions with masks and try to minimize their exposure outside.”
Like the weather, air quality can change from hour to hour and Rizzo recommends checking AirNow.gov and the fire and smoke map before going outside
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.
Air quality monitoring in the U.S. is often focused on cities and centers of population density, but rural areas like West Virginia keep people informed.
Since smoke from Canadian wildfires first descended on West Virginia in early June, residents have become accustomed to AirNow.gov, home of the U.S. Air Quality Index. The site provides up to date information and maps about where wildfire smoke and other pollutants are affecting air quality across the country.
However, often when a West Virginia zip code is entered directly into the search bar at the top of the page, the results can contradict measurements elsewhere on the site and user’s own observations.
Christina Fernandez is the Air and Radiation Division director for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region Three, which covers West Virginia, as well as Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
“When we talk about air quality, there are multiple pollutants,” she said. “We have what we call criteria pollutants, air pollutants, which are for example, particulate matter (PM), ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and lead. And then we have air toxics, we have thousands. We have standards and regulations to reduce these pollutants.”
Monitoring for all of these pollutants is ongoing, and each pollutant requires a different type of monitor. Fernandez said that one of the criteria for where to place monitors is population. For the monitoring of particulate matter, which is the primary pollutant being produced by the wildfires, the minimum population criteria is between 500,000 to one million people. On top of low population density, air quality in West Virginia is normally very good, and as a result the state only has 13 monitors that detect particulate matter.
“What’s happening is West Virginia is meeting the PM standard,” Fernandez said. “When a state or an area is meeting the standards, and they’re not under what we call a maintenance plan, the state can remove a monitor, it doesn’t have to have it.”
A screenshot of the AirNow Fire and Smoke Map taken Thursday afternoon shows the limited number of monitors in West Virginia compared to in larger cities in surrounding areas.
Renu Chakrabarty is the assistant director for the air monitoring laboratory and air toxics at the Division of Air Quality at the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. She said the DEP doesn’t just rely on its own monitors, and works with other departments and states to ensure complete, up-to-date information is available.
“We have a limited budget, and we have to allocate our resources appropriately,” she said. “What we’re looking at is based on what our monitors are actually reading and what monitors in nearby states and bordering areas are reading. We also look at some of the weather forecasts and see how the wind is kind of coming through and impacting.”
Chakrabarty said the incongruous results users may get is an artifact of the way the AirNow system defaults in searches, giving green results based on ozone readings.
“What we are advising folks to do is use the AirNow website, but make sure that you’re using the contours feature from the interactive maps page,” she said. “That will provide you a better picture of what’s going on.”
Chakrabarty advises that like the weather, air quality can change from hour to hour and recommends checking AirNow.gov before going outside.
National Weather Service Meteorologist Jennifer Berryman said an expected shift in the air flow high up in the atmosphere could temporarily cause the smoke to dissipate in time for the July Fourth weekend.
With Canadian wildfires affecting air quality levels throughout much of the state, many people are wondering about the wisdom of spending time outdoors over the holiday weekend.
The National Weather Service said a predicted change in weather patterns could temporarily dissipate some of the smoky haze affecting the state as we head into the early part of the weekend.
National Weather Service Meteorologist Jennifer Berryman said an expected shift in the air flow high up in the atmosphere could cause the smoke to dissipate in time for the July 4 weekend.
“We’ve been seeing a flow from the northwest that’s been transporting the smoke down from Canada into our area,” Berryman said. “Once we get into the weekend we are looking at more of a westerly flow — potentially sourcing that air from a different location that would lead to an improvement in conditions.”
Berryman said that while we may have a short break from poor air quality, she expects another shift in the weather pattern back to a northwest airstream.
As the wildfires continue to burn out of control in Canada the state can expect a return to hazy and smoky conditions by midweek.
To see the latest on air quality for your area, visit AirNow.gov.
Click here for information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on protecting yourself from wildfire smoke.
With numerous West Virginia area air quality levels in the unhealthy range due to smoke from Canadian wildfires, medical experts are advising health precautions for both the general public and those at greater risk.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
Updated on Thursday, June 29, 2023 at 3:30 p.m.
The particles that wildfire smoke produces are small enough to cause big problems according to Dr Sunil Sharma, the division chief for pulmonary critical care at West Virginia University. He said they are not allergens.
“These are so small particles that our body’s filters – the nasal hairs and others, are not able to filter them,” Sharma said. “They have the ability to go all the way deep into a respiratory symptom. They also have an ability, which we call a spillover, to go into our blood. These are not allergens. These are irritants that can cause inflammation inside your lungs. And that’s why they’re so dangerous. Imagine people who already have lung problems.”
Sharma noted that West Virginia has the highest number of COPD patients in the U.S. He said this obstructive lung disease, a very fatal condition often caused by smoking, means people’s lungs are already damaged and inflamed. He said any extra inflammation can tip them over, causing increased hospitalization and emergency room visits.
Dr Sunil Sharma
“The small particulates, when you’re exposed to these and they spill into your blood, can cause heart attacks, “Sharma said. “You see increased rates of heart attacks during these periods of acute exposure to these very small particulates.”
Sharma said the air quality in Morgantown Thursday registered above 215 on the Air Quality Index — a level he said is very severe, offering comparison.
“Anytime you’re above 200 it’s almost equal to smoking half a pack of cigarettes a day,” Sharma said. “You can imagine that if people are susceptible in the areas that are already inflamed, and you light up one cigarette after the other, by the end of half a pack a day, your lungs would be severely inflamed. You would definitely be looking at some kind of an exacerbation in your underlying disease.”
Sharma suggests if the air quality is severe, people who are susceptible should consider enjoying the indoors, people who work outside should limit their hours and all should avoid – or limit – outdoor exertional activity.
“Anytime you do a very exertional activity, you have to take very deep breaths,” Sharma said. “That means that many of these particles can go very deep down inside your lungs and settle in your alveoli or have a spillover effect. So if you’re jogging, turn it into walking. If you are spending four hours outdoors, spend only two hours.”
Dr. Michael Kilkenny, CEO and health officer for the Cabell-Huntington Health Department, said this wildfire smoke contains a number of hazardous small particles and chemical contaminants.
“You’re having air quality that is not only going to potentially cause problems for people who have underlying conditions like asthma or COPD,” Kilkenny said. “It’s also going to be unpleasant for some members of the general public who may just find themselves getting a little bit congested or coughing from it.”
Kilkenny said there are short-term and long-term effects in terms of people at risk.
“People are at risk of having a short-term reaction to this,” Kilkenny said. “Like coughing, shortness of breath, nasal congestion or allergy symptoms – those that are going outside and feeling worse, would be those people who are more elderly and who have respiratory or even a chronic cardiovascular disease. It can be hard for people with asthma and younger people, especially infants.”
Kilkenny suggested those with lung disease or sensitivities to stay inside and set your air conditioning on recirculation mode to lessen bringing these outside smoke particles into your living quarters.
He said the general public should use common sense.
“Don’t be doing really strenuous exercise or long-term working outdoors in this environment if you can help it,” he said. “The harder you’re breathing, the more you’re going to breathe this. If you are outside, you want to avoid really strenuous work, exercising. Today might not be a good day for you to go for a run outside.”
Kilkenny said if you don’t have air conditioning, he recommends avoiding strong exposure to this smoky air by not “getting really worked up and breathing hard.”
He said there’s also the potential for long-term effects as very small smoke particles get deep into the lungs and become a risk for long-term health issues.
“Something that we’re going to worry about, oh well, I was out for an hour today,” he said. “But in terms of how many times in my life, am I going to be exposed to this, for how many days – then we’re talking about trying to keep young children from really getting a lot of exposure to this kind of smoke. Parents should watch after the long-term effect on their children as far as how much they’re exposed to this.”
On this West Virginia Morning, hundreds of southern West Virginia teachers are gathered in Charleston this week, learning how to best improve student literacy. Randy Yohe reports on implementing the “Ready Read Write” initiative.
On this West Virginia Morning, hundreds of southern West Virginia teachers are gathered in Charleston this week, learning how to best improve student literacy. Randy Yohe reports on implementing the “Ready Read Write” initiative.
Also, in this show, officials have issued alerts about air quality issues in West Virginia. Eric Douglas has more.
The Putnam County Commission approved an ordinance Tuesday that could restrict drag shows. Curtis Tate has more.
And with the July 4 holiday approaching, officials are asking the public to rethink using fireworks. Delaney Wells has more.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Concord University and Shepherd University.
Caroline MacGregor is our assistant news director and produced this episode.
Teresa Wills is our host.
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