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Smoke from more than 400 Canadian wildfires is causing a huge dip in air quality in the US.
Breathing isn’t just nasty – poor air quality can cause a variety of health problems, such as asthma, allergies and heart disease. Anyone with health problems should limit their time outside.
DailyMail.com has discovered free online tools and apps that let you know how polluted the air is in your area, so you can see if it’s safe to go outside.
Numerous service shares real-time air quality information for hundreds of cities.
Below are the resources you may need for the following week.
Smoke from more than 400 Canadian wildfires is causing a huge dip in air quality in the US. New York City (pictured) had the worst air quality in the world
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns the public about headaches, burning eyes and other health problems that can occur after being outdoors.
Small particles of wildfire smoke can enter the lungs and then the bloodstream
It would help if you look at what you’re breathing in right now.
Purple sky
This web-based service provides you with real-time air quality data from sensors around the world.
Purple Ai uses a laser particle counter that can count particulate matter in sizes processed by the sensor using an algorithm to calculate PM1.0, PM2.5 and PM10 mass concentration.
Smoke from Canada’s wildfires fills the air with tiny particles called PM2.5, about 2.5 microns in size.
PurpleAir is a web-based service that gives you real-time air quality data from sensors around the world
In comparison, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, a single human hair is about 70 micrometers in size, and the human eye cannot see anything smaller than 25 micrometers.
AirNow
And the US government runs the Air Now app, which provides real-time air quality information for more than 500 cities.
Developed by the EPA, the app automatically displays the current AQI (Air Quality Index) for your local area or an area you want to monitor and allows you to save multiple locations for quick reference.
AirNow is available on iPhone and Android.
Google Maps
This is a great service for those who don’t want to download an app just to check air quality.
The tech giant launched the feature at street level in 2017 and rolled it out to Maps in the app and desktop version in 2022.
Using data collected from agencies like the EPA, Google Maps displays an AQI overlay on the map grid to show how healthy the air is in the area.
The US government operates the Air Now app, which provides real-time air quality information for more than 500 cities. Google Maps overlays air quality data in Maps
An online calculator takes the AQI+ hours of exposure and tells you the impact on your health in terms of cigarettes
AQI to cigarette calculator
An online calculator takes the AQI+ hours of exposure and tells you the impact on your health in terms of cigarettes.
The calculator uses PM 2.5 particle concentration – the number of particles in the air of a given size.
The health impact of a particle concentration of 22 μg/m3 per 24 hours corresponds to approximately one cigarette.
Breathing the air in New York on Wednesday was like smoking 22 cigarettes.
New York City had the worst air quality of any major metropolitan area — ahead of New Delhi, India, Doha, Qatar and Baghdad, Iraq.
Most of New York State and all of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Vermont are under an air quality alert. Detroit, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Boston, Hartford, Providence and Montpelier, Vermont are also hard hit.
Children, older adults, and pregnant people with cardiovascular or respiratory disease should take special care.
Rule of thumb: You are exposed if you can see or smell smoke.