UNDATED – Canadian wildfires are affecting air quality in Pennsylvania, with health officials saying you should stay indoors.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has declared a code purple Air Quality Alert for our region with hazardous to very unhealthy conditions.
We spoke with Dr. Sandeep Bansal, medical director at Penn Highlands lung center, who told us that in conditions like this you should limit all outdoor activities.
“Especially if you have underlying lung disease, such as COPD, asthma, even heart disease, you can be at a significantly higher risk than somebody who doesn’t have these problems,” explained Dr. Bansal. “So you have to be very, very careful. So don’t just rely on what you see outside. It’s not just about, you know, you see a haze outside or you smell the smoke in the air.”
The Air Quality Alert is expected to last through the weekend.
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