Live. Look at the skyline over Detroit, Michigan.
just one of the many metro cities that we're talking
about this morning dealing with extensive smoke and
smog. It is poor air quality. You see Washington DC
there. Um It, it has been absolutely wild to see the
images come through overnight and into the morning, New
York City that skyline barely recognizable. That is a
live look that is at 10 30 in the morning. You see no
sunlight. There is nothing. It's crazy. 100 wildfires
burning to the north in Canada and that has just sent
all of the smoke into our country. So a large part of
the eastern seaboard down to South Carolina and then
over in the Midwest, it was a rough day yesterday today
and maybe another tough 36 hours Scott, he says, so
we're keeping an eye on that. Yes, we've been tracking
the haze of this wildfire smoke over a large part of
the country that's coming from Canada, as we mentioned.
Really I mean, like, look at that, I mean, how bad it
got yesterday. Look at that like orangey. It is unreal.
The smoke first drifted into the northeast and the
Midwest now it's going even further south and all of it
threatening the health of tens of millions of Americans
with poor air quality. At one point in all of this New
York City had the worst air quality of any place on
earth and it's not doing too much better today. Also
Detroit now high on that list. So this is, this is a
tough, tough week, tough few days. Let's get to William
Barrett National Senior Directo of the Clean Air
Initiative with the American Lung Association. Than
for giving us some time this morning. Again, tens of
millions of people on the path of all of this smoke,
it's going to dominate, you know, the majority of this
week for a lot of folks. So what is the best advice
Because at the end of the day, not everyone can stay
inside, there's school, there's work, there's errands,
there's things you have to do. So people who should be
on the lookout, who's most susceptible I should say to
the smoke and what steps can they take Sure. Well,
thanks for bringing attention to this really important,
uh, issue. Uh We know that people's health is being
affected right now because they're being exposed to
wildfire smoke. Uh The key message is really to limit
your time outdoors to the extent possible, stay indoo
as much as possible, protect the air in your car in
your home, really try to keep the smoke from coming in
and really paying attention to the changing conditions,
the, the weather changes, the wind shifts that all of
that, uh, is really important to pay attention to. And
then, you know, really, as you noted, there are some
folks who are more susceptible. So we really wanna make
sure that we're paying attention to any symptoms that
we might, you know, develop ourselves. But also for our
kids or seniors and our families or people with lung or
heart disease or diabetes who might be struggling even
more. So, when we're talking about, you know, red flag
warnings in places like Detroit in the Midwest, uh, the
mitten as, uh, our meteorologist Scott with calls
um, what kind, what does that kind of smoke in that
dense smoke do to someone's lungs, uh, whether th
outside for five minutes or an hour or two hours even
more. Well, and it's important to remember that some of
these effects can show up days after exposure. So it's
not just immediate necessarily, but it can be lingering
and fine particles can get, you know, deep into our
lungs. They can bypass the body's defenses and even
cross into the bloodstream causing, you know, uh, uh,
cardiovascular issues. So it's important that we're
realizing that, you know, we can have minor irritation,
you have burning throat and burning eyes, but it can
also lead to things like asthma exacerbations or
worsening of C O P D, uh, symptoms. So, there's a wid
range of consequences here and again, the the key
message is to limit your time outdoors, uh stay indoors
the greatest time possible and really keep an extra eye
on, on those in your family who might be more
vulnerable. And I'm just wonder if you know some of
the little steps work. Obviousl most of us still have
some COVID masks. 95 s hanging around the kitchen
drawer in the closet somewhere. Should certain folks
hearted areas bring them back out Do they are the air
purifiers you see everywhere Now, is that effective to
keep running in your, in your office or in your home
today What are some everyday steps you'd recommend
people take that are actually effective Yeah, and th
things that are most effective again, are are limiti
time outdoors, limiting exposure to unhealthy air,
certainly air purifiers with HEPA filters can be useful
in in screening out the particles that do get indoors.
Uh for masks, we really want to be clear that you know,
your standard dust mask or surgical mask isn't going to
be that effective compared to an N95 and even an N95
mask can, you know, shouldn't be really relied on as
the main source of protection that might not be as
effective for kids where they might not fit well or it
can make it more difficult to breathe for people with
heart or lung diseases. So again, they can be effective
in screening out fine particles if worn properly and uh
in the right conditions. But really want to make sure
that we're suggesting that people limit their exposures
in general. If you can stay inside, stay inside, you
can keep your windows closed even though it is hotter.
Now, Scott, he was saying in the northeast. So it's, I
mean, you want to open a window but you can't, you can,
you know, so on the ac have a purifier if you can. Yes
it's tough. You're in Californi So we know you are
very familiar with fire smoke, wildfire, smoke out
there. So it's the midwest and east coast turn to kind
of deal with it for a few days, but it's a lot. But
thanks so much for the, giving us some time and some
insight and some good advice on what folks can do.
Appreciate it.