Air Pollution From Wildfires Back In Morris County, Alert Issued

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — Although North Jersey may get a break from thunderstorms, air-quality issues linked to the ongoing wildfires in Canada have returned.

State officials issued an air quality alert for the entire state, including Morris County, in effect for the entirety of Thursday.

"Sensitive individuals, including those with heart or lung disease, the elderly, and the young should limit strenuous activities and the amount of time active outdoors," said the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Earlier this month, wildfire smoke and haze made New Jersey's air unfit to breathe and turned the region's skies orange. The smoke has blanketed the Great Lakes region this week, prompting air quality warnings across the Midwest.

Some of the smoke has made its way into New Jersey, with areas of the state experiencing "moderate" air quality as of noon Wednesday, implying that those most sensitive to particle pollution should consider limiting their outdoor time or the severity of their outdoor activities.

AirNow.gov, which reports air quality using the official U.S. Air Quality Index (AQI), shows Morris County at 122 on the scale as of noon Thursday — 101-150 is "unhealthy for sensitive groups," while 151-200 is "unhealthy."

However, that's nowhere near the level of air pollution New Jersey faced in early June. Any score higher than 301 reaches "hazardous" levels, and portions of the state exceeded 500 during that period.

Aging wildfire smoke, sunny skies and the transport of emissions from upwind states will make Thursday's conditions for rising ozone levels, state officials said.

Wildfires have burned over 19 million acres since the start of the year, roughly 6.3 million of which were in Quebec, according to Accuweather.