Could smoke from Canadian wildfires head toward South Jersey?
It's wildfire season in Canada and the upper Northeast, as there are at least six reported wildfires, stretching from Rhode Island to Quebec.
Could those wildfires could push a smoky haze into South Jersey and the Delaware Valley?
National Weather Service says wildfire impact depends on wind direction
South Jersey and the Delaware Valley will be spared from the heaviest of the traveling smoke caused by the wildfires, said Amanda Lee, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
"Overall and at least for the next several days at least, we will be mainly looking at south and southwesterly winds," Lee said. "So generally speaking, that means we will be drawing air from the southern region of the country, as opposed to other locations."
2024 wildfire season primer: Canadian wildfires have started. Will smoke descend on the USA like last year?
What is the air quality right now in South Jersey?
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection updates its air quality index every hour, and as of Monday morning, the air quality for the South Coastal New Jersey area was "good."
The environmental protection agency tracks five air quality contaminants.
"An AQI has been developed for five major pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act: ozone, particle pollution (also called particulate matter), carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide," read a portion of New Jersey's AQI website. "The AQI for each pollutant is generally based on the health-based national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for that pollutant and the scientific information that supports that standard."
South Jersey residents can also track the air quality index through the AQI website.
Air quality longtime issue in SJ: Air quality problems persist. Here's the latest in South Jersey
How can I track these wildfires?
South Jersey residents, particularly those with any respiratory issues, may want to keep an eye on recently discovered and currently blazing wildfires in the northeast.
Wildfires prompt evacuations, air alerts Canadian wildfires prompt evacuations in Alberta and British Columbia, air advisories in US
What's the wildfire forecast in the U.S.?
AccuWeather, in its 2024 wildfire forecast, said that the upcoming wildfire season in the U.S. is not expected to shatter records, but "millions of people may still face hazardous air quality from blazes burning across the country and Canada."
2024 Canadian wildfire season primer: Canadian wildfires have started. Will smoke descend on the USA like last year?
Overall, AccuWeather said that the 2024 U.S. wildfire season is expected to be below average in terms of the number of fires and acres burned. Fires across the country are predicted to burn between 4 and 6 million acres of land in 2024, below the historical average of around 7 million acres.
It's already been a newsworthy year for wildfires in the U.S.: Due mainly to the wildfires that roared across the grasslands of Texas in March, some 1.7 million acres have burned in the U.S. so far this year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. That's the most since 2017 and more than double the average of around 700,000 acres (to date), the center said.
Damon C. Williams covers trending and regional developments for PhillyBurbs.com. Support our journalism with a subscription.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Could wildfires in Canada bring a smoky haze to South Jersey?
