As winds move east bringing in smoke from the West Coast and parts of southwestern Canada, Michigan skies look hazy during the day and are filled with color during sunrise and sunset.
Jeff Andresen, State Climatologist for Michigan, explains how the smoke impacts how we see the sky.
“When this light travels through a medium where there are particles and some reflection going on, the wavelengths can change and it bends the light a little bit so we see slightly different colors," Andresen said. "And typically with these sunsets it’s been reds and oranges, very, very picturesque. But it’s all because of those particles in the atmosphere.”
Although wildfires are not an unusual occurrence in the U.S., this year is exceptional because of serious drought in areas prone to blazes. And we could possibly see more of it, as the wildfire season continues well into the fall.
But the smoke created also poses air quality risks.
Andresen says if there’s enough smoke in the air, it could reach unhealthy levels, especially for those with lung or breathing problems.
“If people are susceptible to these kinds of things, they really should stay inside where the air is filtered or there’s climate control. So it can actually become a health-related issue as well and we definitely have seen that over the upper Midwest in recent weeks,” he said.
The most common way smoke particles are removed from the air is through gravity. However, the turbulence of the atmosphere is a big factor in determining when those particles will settle out.
Another means of removal is precipitation. This is a process called scavenging, where raindrops intercept smoke particles and take most of them out by inertia.
The hazy skies in Michigan could stay as long as the wildfires last, unless there’s enough rain to bring down the smoke particles from the air.
View the air quality index to check the air quality in your area.
McKoy's story is brought to you as part of a partnership between WKAR and Michigan State University's Knight Center for Environmental Journalism.