Breathing smoke from wildfires can harm your health.
There are several websites to find real-time information about air quality and smoke levels in your community. All of the sites use the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality Index, which ranks air pollution levels on a 0-500 scale, with green and yellow being the best, and red and purple the worst.
They are:
1) Purple Air – Founded in 2015, the site sells outdoor air monitors that measure dust, smoke, soot, and other particulates. The site tracks thousands of its sensors on a worldwide map, allowing anyone to enter a zip code, zoom in and see current air quality in their community, along with the trend there in recent days. www.purpleair.com and Bay Area reports.
2) Air Now – This website, maintained by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, provides similar real-time air pollution data. www.airnow.gov
3) Spare the Air – Operated by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, this site provides air pollution measurements in the nine-county Bay Area, along with a five-day forecast, information about commuter incentives and rules on wood-burning fireplaces. Information is at www.sparetheair.org or www.baaqmd.gov/about-air-quality/current-air-quality
4) Air Visual – A worldwide map of air quality sensors in big cities is here, although it’s not as extensive as Purple Air’s. But the site does show fascinating wind direction graphics and ranks which cities have the worst particulate pollution globally. www.airvisual.com/world-air-quality
5. Windy.com — See which direction the wind is blowing, along with other weather information, in a stylish format. www.windy.com
On all of these sites, make sure you are looking at readings for what’s called “PM 2.5.” That’s scientific jargon for “particulate matter that is 2.5 microns in size or smaller.” Those are microscopic, tiny bits of soot and dust: Each particle is less than one-tenth the width of a human hair.
Such tiny particles are unhealthy. They float in the air longer than heavier particles, and can embed deep in the lungs and even the blood stream when people breathe them. They are linked to asthma, bronchitis, heart attacks and other ailments when people are exposed for long periods of time, and they can be particularly harmful to children and the elderly.
Health experts, including officials at the Bay Area air district, recommend staying indoors as much as possible when levels on the Air Quality Index exceed 150. Other recommendations include setting vehicle air levels to “recirculate” to avoid pumping outside air into the vehicle while driving.
See how wildfire smoke is spreading in the Bay Area hour by hour
