Canadian wildfires are a current public health emergency that is causing unhealthy air quality in parts of the US. including Wisconsin. Drifting smoke from the ongoing wildfires across Canada is creating curtains of haze and raising air quality concerns throughout the Great Lakes region, and in parts of the central and eastern United States. The public is being advised of Air Quality Alerts but what does that mean? The Air Quality Index is the standardized tool used by public health departments to determine risk. Nurses should recognize that any reading over 100 on the index is a warning to people with respiratory conditions to take precautions and steps to tailor health education and interventions to reduce risk for patients and populations under their care should be provided.
Your State’s Department of Health and Human Services can provide you with up to date alerts and resources to inform your practice. In Wisconsin nurses can:
- Sign up to receive air quality notices by email or text. When you sign up, you can select one or more counties to receive notifications or you can choose a statewide option.
- Visit the Wisconsin Air Quality Monitoring Data website for interactive maps and to find current advisories by county.