Air Quality Red Alerts Hit us in the Delaware Valley due to Wildfires from Canada

As of the time I wrote this column (Sunday, June 11 at 7:30 a.m.), it was reported by the City of Philadelphia Department of Public Health that air quality is acceptable in the city at this time.

- Thera Martin

However, there may still be a risk for some people, particularly those who are unusually sensitive to air pollution. Members of sensitive groups may still experience health effects. The general public is less likely to be affected. Overall, residents should use their heads. If you know you have respiratory concerns, take it easy for another day or two. If you are healthy and don’t have such issues as asthma, having to be on oxygen, or things like that, you should be able to proceed with your normal activities indoors or outside. Looks like the worst of the poor air quality concerns we’ve been experiencing for more than a week now have all but dissipated. The problem for us along the east coast was that we were getting the aftermath of forest fires in Canada.

When I hosted my radio program, The Allegheny West Radio Show, on WWDB/AM, Wednesday, May 31, 2023, at 8:00 a.m., before I even went to interview my first guest, I reported about Philadelphia being under a code orange warning for air quality. That was May 31. A week later, on June 7, to come back on the air at the radio station and give the same report again, only this time, the report indicated Philadelphia was under a code red alert for poor air quality, which was very concerning. Also, a major difference on June 7, was that when I stepped out of my home to head to the radio station, there was a dark cloud covering the skies, only it wasn’t cloudy. It was smoke from the fires in Canada. Everything sort of felt and looked surreal. The air, all around Philadelphia and in the suburbs, smelled like there was a fire right down the street or something. It was crazy.

At this time, June 7 and June 8, residents were being warned to stay indoors if they could, and to keep their windows closed because of the poor air quality.