MINNEAPOLIS — Smoke from Canadian wildfires is once again impacting air quality in parts of Minnesota this week. This time, the bullseye is the Arrowhead, where a warning remains in effect until Thursday morning.
Headaches, burning eyes and breathing problems are becoming more common in wildfire smoke after wildfires. In the most extreme cases, death can even result.
“Smoke from wildfires is harmful to your health. And that harm can and does occur during a smoke wave. Previously, we would typically have to wait months or even years to get these estimates of how bad the smoke wave was,” said Alistair Hayden, a professor in the Department of Public Health and Ecosystem Health at Cornell University.
To connect those deaths and hospitalizations to harmful air quality, Hayden and other Cornell University scientists developed a new tool that combines data from the Environmental Protection Agency, Centers for Disease Control, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Census Bureau. The goal: Help officials make real-time decisions even faster to protect the hardest-hit communities.
“Help emergency responders, health care workers, people who work in hospitals and the general public understand when the level gets so high that they think, ‘Oh, we really need to take action now,’” Hayden said.
Minnesotans and Wisconsinites know all too well how bad the air quality was last year. The dashboard estimates 133 deaths in Wisconsin and 77 in Minnesota in 2023. New York, Pennsylvania and Michigan top the list with a combined estimate of more than 650 deaths.
“The future is going to be smokier,” Hayden said. “And so we really need to work on how we’re going to protect ourselves and our communities from that wildfire smoke.”
Hayden said there has never been a federal disaster declaration issued due to smoke. He hopes this additional data will change that to bring in additional resources and funding when needed.
