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Wildfire smoke reaches Philly; air quality alert issued; latest forecast and timing

Smoke from Canadian wildfires has become almost an annual summer ritual, with poor air quality impacting Phillies games.

The sun sets in a hazy sky over the Pennsylvania Turnpike Wednesday as the Canadian and Great Lakes wildfire smoke moves into the Philadelphia region.
The sun sets in a hazy sky over the Pennsylvania Turnpike Wednesday as the Canadian and Great Lakes wildfire smoke moves into the Philadelphia region.Read more
Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
What you should know

  1. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has declared a statewide code red air quality day due to Canadian wildfire smoke blowing into the Philadelphia region.

  2. Air quality across Philadelphia reached unhealthy levels Thursday morning, according to five monitoring stations across the city.

  3. A heat advisory is also in effect in Philadelphia, where the heat index could reach 100 degrees. There's also the potential for an isolated thunderstorm this evening between 4 p.m. and 11 p.m.

Smoke in Philly could linger into Friday afternoon

The smoke we’re experiencing in Philadelphia is from fires burning in western Ontario and the impact could be felt through at least Friday afternoon, said Sarah Johnson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Mount Holly office.

The smoke had been lingering high in the atmosphere since Tuesday, but changing wind patterns caused it to mix closer to the ground by late Wednesday afternoon, she said.

“It's just a factor of the winds at all levels kind of working together,” Johnson explained.

Air quality in Philly 'unhealthy' due to wildfire smoke

You might want to skip that morning run or wait a few days to mow the lawn.

Smoke from hundreds of Canadian wildfires has descended over the Philadelphia region, casting a haze, causing a campfire-like smell, and producing poor air quality.

The Air Quality Index by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is in the unhealthy range for Center City, Northeast Philadelphia, Chester, Norristown, and Camden. The index ranges from 0 to 500. Unhealthy is from 151 to 200. Center City was the highest in the area at 184, as of 7:30 a.m.

Code red air quality alert has been issued for the Philly area

Smoke from Canadian wildfires began enveloping the region Thursday, creating a haze, a faint smell of charcoal and a potential danger for people with respiratory issues.

The National Weather Service has issued a code red air quality day for Philadelphia and surrounding counties through midnight. That means air quality across the region is forecast to approach or exceed unhealthy standards.

By daybreak, air quality was tumbling to unhealthy levels in Philadelphia and a broad swath of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, according to an Inquirer analysis of dozens of public sensors.

Map: timing of wildfire smoke in Philly

This map shows air quality in the Northeastern U.S.

Canadian wildfire photos: How things look elsewhere