air quality

People at a viewing deck of the Rockefeller Center gaze at the Manhattan skyline on Friday during heavy smog brought by wildfire smoke from Canada.

Canada's record wildfire season continues to hammer U.S. air quality

4:34pm July 01, 2023

by Willem Marx

Several hundred wildfires are continuing to burn across Canada this weekend, with an ongoing impact on impact air quality for vast swaths of the North American continent.

Health & Safety

Canadian wildfire smoke likely to return to the Triad Wednesday, forecasters say

4:16pm June 27, 2023

by April Laissle

Forsyth County could see another few days of suboptimal air quality this week, due again to the effects of wildfires in Canada.

Smoky air is filled with microscopic flakes of particulate matter that can get into the lungs and even into the blood stream.

Staying safe in smoky air is particularly important for some people. Here's how

2:17pm June 09, 2023

Much of the Northeast U.S. is blanketed in a murky haze of wildfire smoke. For most people breathing this air is unpleasant, for others it can be life-threatening. There are ways to reduce the risk.

Queue Listen Now

A spectrum of colors: green, yellow, orange, red, purple, maroon.

Purple is the new red: How alert maps show when we are royally ... hued

3:58pm June 08, 2023

by Neda Ulaby

Everyone knows that red means danger, but how did purple become a cautionary color? At an EPA conference in the late 1990s, attendees nearly came to blows over color coding on the Air Quality Index.

A person cycles past the skyline in Philadelphia shrouded in haze on Thursday.

When will air quality improve? A lot is riding on the wind

3:09pm June 08, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

Millions of Americans are under air quality alerts as wildfires burn in Canada. Experts say the weather pattern could change by early next week, and stress the need to take precautions until then.

The sun rises over a hazy New York City skyline as seen from Jersey City, N.J., Wednesday, June 7, 2023. Intense Canadian wildfires are blanketing the northeastern U.S. in a haze, turning the air acrid, the sky yellowish gray and prompting warnings for vulnerable populations to stay inside.

National

Photos: Extreme Canadian wildfire smoke shrouds parts of U.S.

3:11pm June 07, 2023

by Nicole Werbeck

Unhealthy air quality grips the East Coast reaching as far south as North and South Carolina.

Winston-Salem saw near record number of good air quality days in 2022, despite Weaver fire

12:52pm March 10, 2023

by April Laissle

Air quality recovered quickly after the Winston Weaver Company fertilizer plant fire. That’s according to a review of air pollution data collected by the Environmental Protection Agency.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan stands near the Marathon Petroleum Refinery in Reserve, La., on Nov. 16, 2021. The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday awarded grants for projects to monitor air quality in 37 states.

The EPA awards grants to monitor air quality in communities hurt by pollution

2:56pm November 03, 2022

by The Associated Press

Dozens of projects will receive millions to boost monitoring near industrial sites. The Biden administration wants to focus on environmental justice in communities impacted by decades of pollution.

Environment

Report takes aim at EPA, WFU, and local officials over Weaver fire response

4:09pm August 05, 2022

by Keri Brown

A recent study claims local officials and environmental agencies downplayed hazardous air conditions during the Winston Weaver fertilizer plant fire — and more should have been done to alert the public.

Environment

Report raises questions about air quality during Winston Weaver chemical fire

5:26pm August 03, 2022

by Keri Brown