When Will Burlington County's Air Clear Up: Weekend Forecast

BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ — The air in Burlington County continued to clear up Friday. But officials continued to urge precautions because of ongoing air-quality concerns linked to the wildfires in eastern Canada.

Burlington County had "moderate" air quality as of 10 a.m. Friday, showing 81 on the Air Quality Index (AQI). The region has a Code Orange air-quality alert through Friday, indicating health risks for sensitive groups, including the elderly and people with heart disease, asthma or other lung diseases.

The public can minimize the air pollution's health impacts by avoiding strenuous outdoor activities and outdoor exercise.

New Jersey's conditions significantly improved over the past 24 hours. On Thursday morning, the state recorded AQI values from 350-450 — hazardous levels in which officials advise everyone to stay indoors.

The public can continue monitoring their local air quality through AirNow.gov, which reports air quality throughout the nation. Air quality alerts are triggered by several factors, including the detection of fine-particle pollution — known as "PM 2.5" — which can irritate the lungs.

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

Burlington County's "moderate" air quality means that people who are "unusually sensitive" to particle pollution should consider reducing outdoor time and activity levels.

Forecasters expect Burlington County's air to remain in "moderate" territory through the weekend before reaching "good" levels Monday.

Here's the county's air-quality forecast as of 10 a.m. Friday, courtesy of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection:

• Friday: AQI of 81 as of 10 a.m. Levels of fine particulates will remain elevated in the unhealthy for sensitive groups category statewide on Friday due to residual Canadian wildfire smoke. Ozone levels are forecast to drop into the good/moderate threshold on Friday as chances for rain are expected to help limit ozone formation in northern portions of the state.
• Saturday: AQI of 100. Levels of fine particle concentrations have continued to slowly decline over the last 24 hours and should continue to do so through Saturday. However, concentrations in upwind locations measuring moderate levels of PM2.5 may allow concentrations in New Jersey to average in the upper moderate category for the day. Due to residual wildfire smoke in the atmosphere, sunny skies, and warm temperatures, ozone may reach the moderate category statewide particularly in southern New Jersey.
• Sunday: AQI of 100. Fine particle concentrations are expected to remain in the upper moderate category through Sunday as winds will shift out of the southwest and may continue to recirculate PM2.5 from upwind areas. Additionally, there may be a chance for ozone concentrations to creep into the USG category on Sunday as sunny skies, temperatures reaching the upper 80s, and southwesterly winds are expected in combination with residual wildfire smoke in the atmosphere.
• Monday: AQI of 50. Air quality is expected to return to the good category on Monday as breezy onshore winds, cloudy skies, and much-needed rain are forecast for the Garden State.

The wildfires continue to negatively impact the climate, with smoke traveling over and warming Arctic snow and ice. The Arctic is already warning four times faster than the rest of the planet, according to research the Finnish Meteorological Institute published last year.

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.