Wildfire Smoke Could Worsen Air Quality Again In NoVA, DC This Week

VIRGINIA/DC — Skies in Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., could yet again be hazy with smoke from Canadian wildfires this week, according to weather forecasters, making air unhealthy for residents with some health conditions.

Smoke is expected to drift from Canada into the U.S. Midwest and the Northeast, and then into the Mid-Atlantic area.

The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments has issued a Code Orange air quality alert for Wednesday and Thursday. A Code Orange air quality alert means it's unhealthy for sensitive populations like children, older adults, and anyone with lung or heart conditions to spend a large amount of time outside.

Smoke from the more than 300 wildfires burning in Canada is expected to continue to slowly move east and south. Some of the smoke may cross the Appalachians and head eastward by late Tuesday, according to the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang.

An air quality index of 50 or below is considered safe. On the air quality index, Code Orange is between 101 and 150.

After storms move through the D.C. area on Tuesday, the National Weather Service is calling for lower humidity and mostly sunny weather on Wednesday, with a high near 81.

The smoke is not expected to be as bad as it was in early June, but forecasters said there remains a lot of uncertainty.

"High-level smoke may be common from the areas seeing it Tuesday and through the Mid-Atlantic and perhaps parts of the Southeast by Wednesday," the Capital Weather Gang said. "Lower-level smoke is less widespread but may at least temporarily have a notable impact in any of the same locations, while tending to focus on the Ohio Valley to Mid-Atlantic region."

The potential for smoke-filled skies could last into the weekend, although the smoke's intensity will probably decrease over time as weather patterns shift slightly, according to the Capital Weather Gang.

To check your location's current air quality, visit here: airnow.gov.

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