Even as weather experts forecast a moderate improvement overnight, Detroit still had the world’s worst air quality as of Friday night, according to the Swiss air-quality technology company IQAir.
After hitting an air quality index, or AQI, of 435 in the morning, the city still led the world with a lower index of 245 at 8:30 p.m. Friday, IQAir said. The new reading moved it out of hazardous territory and into “very unhealthy.” It was trailed by Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo; Washington, D.C.; and Jakarta, Indonesia, in the company’s ranking of the most polluted global major cities.
Detroit had an air quality index, or AQI, of 724 at one point on Thursday, earning it first place for a good part of the day on IQAir’s ranking of the most polluted global major cities.
IQAir makes air quality monitoring and air cleaning products. The index is a measure of PM2.5 or particulate matter, and any index reading above 300 makes the air “hazardous,” according to the company, which means unhealthy for everyone.
AirNow reports the air in most of Michigan is still very unhealthy, and it’s hazardous in Lansing and surrounding areas.
AirNow is a partnership of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. National Park Service, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and local air quality agencies.
The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, or SEMCOG, said it has extended an Air Quality Alert to Saturday. The move marks the fifth time this season the group, a regional planning partnership of municipal governments, has issued the alert.
SEMCOG said it forecasts air in the region to be “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” on Saturday.
“(A) passing warm front will put the Lower Peninsula in southwest winds late Friday and early Saturday. That change will allow some improvements, but we will still likely have recirculated smoke from Indiana and Illinois,” Jim Haywood, EGLE’s Senior Meteorologist, said in a statement issued by SEMCOG. “That thinning of smoke could lead to elevated spikes in ozone levels if enough sun gets through. This episode is not over, however. When the associated cold front passes through later Saturday, we will be back into northwest winds and more smoke. Those fires have not diminished, so we expect more bad Air Quality beginning late Saturday and into Sunday.”
National Weather Service officials said they expect smoke concentrations over Southeast Michigan to improve Friday night as winds shift to the southwest after a warm front moves through the region.
“Storms and stronger winds from the southwest will start to clear out smoke late Friday, and most locations should see significantly improved air quality by Saturday,” officials with the U.S. Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program said.
EGLE agrees.
“Our best model for smoke only predicts out to 48 hours,” the agency said Thursday. “That model is currently showing improvements on Saturday, but it is likely that smoke will linger and recirculate for a while. The National Weather Service mentions the possibility of rain on Saturday, which would help. The Friday forecast will shed more light on that.”
Until the air quality improves, experts recommend Michigan residents, especially those with heart disease and respiratory conditions such as asthma, avoid strenuous outdoor activities.
In addition, residents should keep windows closed to prevent smoke from entering and run central air conditioning with MERV-13 or higher-rated filters, if possible.
They advise residents to limit certain activities, such as outdoor burning, to reduce air pollution.
cramirez@detroitnews.com
@CharlesERamirez