Air quality a major concern
throughout the day for us.
What you're looking at right no,
a picture live over Uptown in the dark
sky though hard to see how hazyt
really is or was earlier today .
Yeah, well we'll show you a coue
videos that will give you a better idea.
So this is just a few hours ago above
Charlotte and then also we've gt
some there you go video and pics
to show you from Buncombe Count.
Charlotte reaching a Code Red a.
This is the second time we've
actually seen this this year.
Yeah, Gaston County looked kind
of like this today earlier.
What you're seeing is a time
lapse video of haze in Dallas.
It's all coming from the Canada wildfire
smoke moving down the East Coas.
Just to give you an idea
of how extreme this is,
this Code Red is only the third
time we've seen this since 2016.
It is the reason why we told
you to be weather aware today.
So Brad joining us now.
Yeah. So, Brad, it sounds like e
need to be weather. We're perhas
diminishing now at this hour.
Yeah, the code red is over.
We're back now in the yellow range and
we'll probably be in the orange tomorrow.
But the threat for, you know,
poor air quality is really subsg
tonight and over the next couple of days is
the smoke will become thinner and thinner
with time and eventually by Saturday.
That northwest flow will push
a lot of the smoke out of here.
Now it doesn't mean we're done h
the smoke for the rest of the summer.
Those wildfires all across Cana,
just not in Eastern Canada.
All the way in Western Canada where a
lot of this smoke originated from are
going to be burning for most of the summer.
So this will be an ongoing issu.
But over the next couple of day,
do expect slowly improving air quality.
Do got to watch Tuesday,
that is the 4th of July and typically on
the 4th we tend to see some pretty poor
air quality because of all the fireworks,
especially if we have an inversion set up.
During the overnight hours,
but we should see improving
conditions the next couple of d.
Our flow is straight out of the Northwest.
That's where the smoke came fro.
It came from Western Canada then moved down
over the Great Lakes and into the Carolinas.
We've got mostly cloudy skies out there
tonight with the haze temperatures very warm,
that cloud cover and the smoke.
Helping to keep the
temperatures up overnight,
so expect a warm night tonight.
Tomorrow though,
we'll be watching the potentialr
some strong thunderstorms developing.
Maybe in the afternoon.
The chances are pretty small,
2030%, but it'll be a steamy 1
back up in the low 90s.
Coming up,
we're going to talk about
the heat and the humidity,
which will be cranking up for the first
time this year as temperatures d
soar into the mid 90s this week.
OK, Brad, thank you.
You know, we just heard Brad tag
about these wildfires and the
potential to burn through the summer,
an air quality expert tells us.
These types of alerts kind of seem to
be like our new normal at this point.
So our Verify Fact Check tonight looks
into some important information here about
the dangers of these conditions since
it is possible that we could see them.
Again. Our source here is Sara.
Arun Chalam, a research professr
with the Institute for the
Environment at UNC Chapel Hill.
So first of all,
our Fact Check tackling this
question What is the actual hazd
of these air quality events?
So he says,
the main concern with these particular
alerts tied to the Canadian wildfires is
that fine particulate matter from the fires,
and so these particulates are 2 1/2 microns,
are smaller, he says,
while the average thickness of a
strand of human hair is 60 micr.
So that gives you an idea of jut
how small these particulates ar.
And really breathing in all of e
tiny particulates can get into r
system and cause some problems.
Next up,
what problems are we talking about here?
So what sort of symptoms?
Well, you could see difficulty breathing,
coughing,
wheezing,
so obviously the respiratory
concerns and you really could
just get tired a lot more easil.
And then could you take any stes
to combat this well, He says.
An N95 mask like the one that we've been,
you know, taught to use during the pandemic,
He says that could help.
Also just staying inside controd
environments like indoors.
If you're driving in a high air
pollution day like Code or Code Orange,
make sure the car is on recirculate air
and not get outdoor air from indoors.
So that's one thing.
And then when you are indoors in
a building like home or office,
I think the regular HVAC is goo.
But also if you can get an indoor air filter,
I think there are a lot of good filters
that are available now in the market.
So finally, who has to take
care of these Code Red days?
Well, really anyone can be susceptible.
It's not just sensitive groups,
he says to don't forget the pet.
They also need to limit it outdr
time in a situation like this.