Air quality alert issued for Menominee County through July 16

Menominee County remained under an air quality alert through 10 a.m. Thursday, July 16, and the National Weather Service in Green Bay kept the county inside its hazardous weather outlook as air quality warnings stayed active across Wisconsin. Anyone planning to be outside for long stretches, including outdoor workers, should trim down strenuous time outdoors and move more activity inside.

Wildfire smoke can travel hundreds or even thousands of miles, and the main pollutant of concern is fine particulate matter, or PM2.5. Smoke from wildfires across Canada and the western U.S. has been spreading across the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes, where it can dim the sun, cut visibility and leave a campfire smell in the air.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sets an AQI between 101 and 150 as unhealthy for sensitive groups, while values above 150 put both sensitive groups and the general population at risk from PM2.5. Children, older adults, pregnant women, and people with asthma, heart disease or other respiratory conditions should scale back outdoor activity, avoid heavy exertion and keep rescue medicine close by if they use it.

The state’s network includes 30 ozone monitoring sites and 18 fine particle monitoring sites, and department meteorologists use monitoring data and weather forecast models to predict future ozone and PM2.5 conditions and issue advisories when needed.