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Minnesota is facing the longest air quality alert on record since the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency began issuing alerts in 2008.
The previous record, set in 2021, was five days. The current alert is expected to last seven days. It will remain in effect through Monday, August 4, at noon.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has suspended all burning permits during the alert, and officials are urging people to avoid campfires to help reduce additional air pollutants.
Meteorologist Ryan Lueck with the MPCA said the prolonged alert is due to heavy wildfire smoke from Canada. A strong high-pressure system combined with persistent northwest winds has trapped the smoke over the region.
What to know about air quality alerts and how to protect your health“Just the widespread nature of the smoke and how heavy it is, that's kind of what's making this difference and why it's taking so long for it to clear out,” Lueck said.
On Saturday, the state saw air quality levels range from unhealthy for sensitive groups to unhealthy for everyone.
The MPCA reports concentrations should gradually decline as winds shift and push smoke north, but with smoke spreading as far south as Tennessee and Missouri, clearing could be slow.
“Typically, we would have southerly winds and that would clear out the smoke within a day or so,” Lueck said. “We are getting southerly winds in this case, but the smoke is so far south that it's taking a while for that clearing process to take place.”
Orange Air Quality Index levels, indicating unhealthy conditions for sensitive groups, may persist into Sunday and Monday.
Lueck said gradual improvement is expected over the coming days.
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