LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — With the record-breaking wildfire season in Canada, air quality alerts are becoming more of a common occurrence in our area. As these events become more frequent, how can we protect ourselves against poor air quality?
The wildfire season in Canada is record-breaking, with over 5,100 wildfires. The average number for this time of year is closer to 4,000. There are not only more wildfires, but they are larger and burning over 31 million acres of land.
And whenever that smoke enters into our area, it affects our air quality. “We have a scientist, and she says this wonderful thing to us, ‘If you don’t have an air filter, you become, we the human become the filter.'” Freudenberg Filtration Expert Darren King said. “So, you want an air filter in any environment where you’re going to spend a significant amount of time like your vehicle you want to have an air filter, and a good air filter and change that filter regularly so that you get the best protection you can.”
Poor air quality can cause several health complications. From short-term effects like throat irritation to long-term effects like increased asthma complications. So, the air quality in your home should also be monitored as these events become more frequent.
King said the key here is to change your home’s air filter often.
And with the multiple air quality alerts we have already seen this year, you should think about changing both your vehicle’s cabin air filter and HVAC filter right about now.
It’s not just the wildfires in Canada that we have to think about. The United States sees and average of 68,000 wildfires every year, which could also bring more smoke to our area at some point in time.
