“Unprecedented”: air quality in MN “very poor” until next week

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency calls it an unprecedented long-lasting air quality event. The thick plume of smoke from Canada’s wildfires will linger across Minnesota until this weekend.

The MPCA extended the air quality alert for all of Minnesota until 3 p.m. Tuesday. Air quality will be in the very unhealthy range (purple on the map) for much of Minnesota throughout the weekend. MPCA Details:

Including the towns of Albert Lea, Alexandria, Apple Valley,
Blaine, Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Buffalo, Burnsville, Eagan, Eden Prairie, Farmington, Hastings, Mankato, Maple Grove, Minneapolis, Minnetonka, Northfield, Plymouth, Prior Lake, Ramsey, Rogers, Rosemount, Roseville, Shakopee, St. Cloud, Parc Saint-Louis, Saint-Paul, Stillwater, Waconia, White Bear Lake and Woodbury

305 CDT Fri Jul 30, 2021 … AIR QUALITY ALERT NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 3:00 PM CDT TUESDAY …… LONG TERM AND UNPRECEDENTED SIGNIFICANT AIR QUALITY EVENT
DEPLOYMENT ACROSS MINNESOTA … *

WHAT … The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has issued an air quality alert for fine particle pollution. The Air Quality Index (AQI) should reach the purple or very unhealthy category. This will be a long-running and unprecedented air quality event for Minnesota. *

O … Central and South Central Minnesota. *

WHEN … Until 3 p.m. CDT Tuesday. *

IMPACTS … The risk of health effects is increased for everyone. *

FURTHER DETAILS … Smoke from Canadian wildfires persists across much of Minnesota. There will be a slight improvement in air quality throughout Friday and Friday evening. However, on Saturday, northerly winds behind a cold front will bring more smoke from forest fires north of the Canadian border in Ontario and Manitoba in Minnesota. This bundle of thick smoke reinforcement is expected to arrive from Saturday morning. Smoke will continue to pour into the state throughout Saturday and Sunday. High pressure will build up in the area for
Sunday and stay in the area from Monday to Tuesday morning. The smoke will recirculate under the high pressure resulting in an extended period of thick smoke. Fine particulate matter levels will begin to improve on Tuesday as southerly winds begin to move smoke out of the state. Fine particulate matter levels are expected to reach the Purple IQA grade, a level considered very unhealthy for everyone, in north-central and south-central Minnesota. This
The region includes St Cloud, the Twin Cities and the Thousand Lakes Tribal Nation. Fine particulate matter levels are expected to reach the AQI red category, a level considered unhealthy for everyone, in northern and central Minnesota. This area includes Alexandria, Mankato, Albert Lea, and the Upper Sioux and Prairie Island tribal nations.

Air quality improved slightly on Friday across much of Minnesota from record levels on Thursday. It has sometimes been good in northeastern Minnesota, and very bad in the west.

The Twin Cities Air Quality Index for particulate matter was 153 at 1 p.m., which is in the unhealthy range.

Thick smoke still swirls in slowly changing winds across Minnesota.

A northerly wind this weekend will reinforce the lingering plume of smoke as more smoke from the fires drift towards southern Canada.