An air quality alert was issued Monday for much of Massachusetts because of smoke at the ground level from wildfires raging on the western side of the continent.
The alert, which was issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, is in effect through midnight. It means that the concentration of fine particulates in the air may approach or exceed healthy standards.
“It’s still projected to be quite thick here in central and eastern Massachusetts through this evening,” said StormTeam 5 chief meteorologist Harvey Leonard. “Then this particular plume, the heaviest part of it, will get carried off the coast. But, look, there’s likely to be more plumes giving us hazy skies again (Tuesday.)”
A haze set in over Boston during the early afternoon, blurring the view of the city’s tallest buildings and turning the sky to grey.
Several Massachusetts fire departments said they were receiving numerous calls reporting the smell of smoke or haze in the air.
“This (is) due to the Jet stream capturing smoke from the Western and Canadian Wildfires and bringing it over our region,” the Greenfield Fire Department said. “You may continue to smell smoke in the region for some time.”
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