How To Check Your Air Quality In Long Valley

LONG VALLEY, NJ — The air is listed as unhealthy in Long Valley on Thursday, and officials warn children, the elderly, and those with respiratory conditions to stay indoors.

Smoke from wildfires in eastern Canada is lingering above several states on the East Coast this week.

As of Thursday morning, all 23 counties are under an air quality alert, with a “Code Orange Air Quality Action Day” in effect for Thursday, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

A code orange air quality alert means that air pollution concentrations within the region may become unhealthy for sensitive groups, such as children, the elderly and those suffering from asthma or heart disease.

"Levels of fine particulates will remain in the unhealthy category through the daytime hours today due to the wildfire smoke from eastern Canadian wildfires," the state agency said.

The frequency, extent and severity of wildfires mark important indicators of climate change, environmental officials say. The peak of the nation's wildfire season is also occurring earlier — peaking in August from 1984-2001 and then in July from 2002-20, according to research from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

How To Monitor Long Valley's Air Quality

AirNow.gov, which reports air quality using the official U.S. Air Quality Index (AQI), has updated air-quality data from around the nation. Long Valley has a "very unhealthy" level of air pollution as of Thursday morning.

Air quality alerts are triggered by a number of factors, including the detection of fine-particle pollution — known as "PM 2.5" — which can irritate the lungs.

Officials reported Long Valley at 228 on the AQI scale as of Thursday morning — "very unhealthy" levels fall between 201 and 300.

The AQI scale is as follows:

• Good/green: 0-50
• Moderate/yellow: 51-100
• Unhealthy for sensitive groups/orange: 101-150
• Unhealthy/red: 151-200
• Very unhealthy/purple: 201-300
• Hazardous/maroon: 301-500

AirNow partners with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Park Service, NASA, Centers for Disease Control, and tribal, state, and local air quality agencies.

Environmental officials anticipate air-quality issues persisting through at least Thursday. But the timeline toward safer air remains difficult to predict.

Guidance For Staying Safe

Air quality in "very unhealthy" territory means that older adults, children, teens, and people with heart or lung disease should avoid outdoor physical activities, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says.

The federal agency advised everyone else to avoid strenuous outdoor activities and keep them short if necessary, while considering moving physical activities indoors or rescheduling them.

There are approximately 160 wildfires burning across Quebec, part of a wider group of more than 300 fires across the country that some are calling Canada's worst fire season ever.

Quebec's fire prevention agency has said high temperatures and dry conditions have contributed to the raging fire season.

Previous fires in Nova Scotia and Alberta have sent smoke into New Jersey, prompting air quality warnings.