Some smoke from Canadian wildfires still lingering over the region

(WGGB/WSHM) -- As wildfires continuing to burn in Canada, the impact is still being monitored in western Massachusetts, even as it seems the smoke is clearing out.

On Wednesday, Springfield looked like something you would see in the movies as total haze filled the skies and the smell of smoke filled the air as fire crews up north continued to battle hundreds of wildfires in Canada.

However, on Friday, everything looked much more clear. With places like New York City still seeing the smoke, we wanted to know more and brought our question to Western Mass News First Alert Meteorologist Liam Murphy.

“So the upper level low that’s been lingering over the northeast is actually retrograded and what that means is…all the winds have kind of pushed further off to our west, meaning western Mass. is kind of in the clear for that, but all that smoke is kind of still down towards western New York and going through Pennsylvania sort of like that,” Murphy explained.

We also found out what our skies could look like in the coming days.

“For today and through the weekend, the air quality will be awfully low, so there really are no concerns…not going to be any smoke at the surface, at all, in western Mass. or really in southern New England…more so in the high levels of the atmosphere…so the sky can take more or a white milky appearance, but we’re not expecting any major impacts like we saw this week,” Murphy added.

While some people may be spending more time outside, Baystate Health Pulmonologist Mohammad Abu Hishmeh told Western Mass News that people should still be vigilant about the air and their health.

“If you feel sick, stay in the house, stay indoors, close your windows, turn on the [air conditioner], the air purifier to improve the quality of the air around you the environment around you,” Hishmeh said.

He advised people to check the air quality index as well, stay on top of medications, and said people can choose to wear face masks as an extra precaution from particles in the air.

“Pay attention to your mental health, during this stressful time, especially with people staying in the house,” Hishmeh noted.

Earlier this week, Baystate said they were monitoring respiratory illnesses. Hishmeh told us the clinic saw an uptick in phone calls concerning breathing issues at their clinics, but not an uptick in patients in the hospital.

Copyright 2023. Western Mass News (WGGB/WSHM). All rights reserved.