Air quality alert for most of state through Friday night due to wildfire smoke

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has expanded an air quality alert to now cover most of the state, including the Twin Cities area.

It’s due to a heavy band of smoke from wildfires in Canada moving in across the state starting on Wednesday for the northwest part of the state, and then settling down into the central and southern areas of the state on Thursday. The alert is in effect until 11 p.m. on Friday.

For a little more than the northern half of the state, the air quality category will be red on Thursday, meaning it is unhealthy for everyone. That includes Brainerd, Alexandria, Duluth, Two Harbors and more. In these areas, the air will look hazy and might smell like smoke, and you won’t be able to see long distances.

People in the red category should limit their outdoor activities and avoid intense outdoor activities.

Much of the rest of the state will be in the orange category, meaning unhealthy for sensitive groups, such as people with asthma, heart and lung disease, or other respiratory conditions. That includes St. Cloud, the Twin Cities, Marshall, Mankato, Worthington and Albert Lea.

The air quality is expected to improve on Friday, with most of the state falling into the orange category (unhealthy for sensitive groups). Winds start to help push the smoke back north, but the MPCA says it might take a day or so for the air quality to completely improve.

The post Air quality alert for most of state through Friday night due to wildfire smoke first appeared on KSTP.com 5 Eyewitness News.