Hazy conditions stemming from ongoing wildfires in the Western United States and Canada pushed the Monadnock region’s air quality into the “unhealthy for sensitive groups” category on Monday.
“We monitored small particles… in the high ‘unhealthy for sensitive group’ concentrations at every single monitoring station in the state,” on Monday, said Department of Environmental Services air resources division Chief Scientist Jeff Underhill, a situation created by smoke from the wildfires blanketing the Northeast. “We don’t typically dip into the danger zone too often,” Underhill said, and it’s “very, very unusual” to have such an event affect the entire state.
The U.S. Air Quality Index runs from 0 to 500, with higher numbers indicating higher levels of air pollution. Readings under 50 are considered satisfactory. Readings between 101 and 150, “the orange zone,” are classified as unhealthy for sensitive groups like the elderly, the very young, and people who have breathing impairments including emphysema and COPD, Underhill said.
Last week, although the haze was noticeable on certain days and affected the air quality at two higher-elevation monitoring stations, “what we experienced [Monday] was significantly worse than that,” Underhill said. “It hit levels that I had not seen in monitors in New Hampshire since I started working here 25 years ago.”
Particulate matter concentrations peaked on Monday evening and have been dropping since, aided by a Wednesday morning cold front triggering a shift in the wind, Underhill said. However, there’s a chance that the smoke could return if the winds shift again while the fires are still burning, he said. Every county in New Hampshire was listed in the “dangerous” orange zone Monday and Tuesday but returned to the “good” green zone on Wednesday.
Southwestern New Hampshire’s Fire Mutual Aid received between 20 and 30 calls about the smoke on Monday, a dispatcher said on Tuesday. Even though the smoke wasn’t coming from a local fire, local firefighters investigated every call, but that didn’t affect other fire department activities much, he said. There was no apparent uptick in medical calls related to the air quality, he said.
The smoke dropped visibility at the Mount Washington Observatory to about 30 miles, weather observer and education specialist Jacquelyn Bellefontaine said. “For perspective, on a very clear day we can see 130 miles,” she said. “You could smell it so strongly up here,” she said, “If you were sensitive, you could definitely feel it in your lungs a little bit.”
Outside of having a nice view from the mountaintop, visibility is an important factor for aviation, Bellefontaine said. Jaffrey’s Silver Ranch Airpark owner Harvey Sawyer experienced the smoke firsthand as he piloted a plane from Portland, Maine towards upstate New York on Monday. “At 6,500 feet, the haze was brown and visible, and you could smell it,” he said, describing the odor “like a burning dump.” Sawyer managed to rise above it at 8,500 feet, where he said conditions were smooth. Although the low visibility made it more important to use every method available to detect other aircraft, it was still possible to fly, he said. Mostly, “it was not the kind of day people wanted to jump into planes for fun,” he said.
The most important thing you can do to protect yourself from poor air quality is to pay attention to your body, Underhill said. If you’re noticing an impact on the way you’re feeling or breathing, seek air conditioning or a filtered air environment, he said. “Generally, being inside will be a little bit safer than being outside,” he said.
When air quality creeps into the orange zone, it probably makes sense to hold off on exercising outdoors until conditions improve, he said. “Take frequent breaks if you have to be outside,” he said, retreating to a filtered air environment when possible. Poor air quality affects animals, too, so look out for your pets, Underhill said. “Maybe don’t take them for a walk or play a rigorous game of Frisbee when we have events like this,” he said. “If you happen to see if they’re having trouble breathing, they need to seek the care of a veterinarian,” he said.