MINNEAPOLIS — An air quality alert issued Tuesday for parts of Minnesota has worsened overnight for those in southern Minnesota, prompting the state's Pollution Control Agency to elevate the Air Quality Index (AQI) into the red category — meaning the air is deemed unhealthy for everyone.
While the air in the southern half of the state has worsened, the MPCA said communities in northeast Minnesota are no longer affected.
The latest air quality warning was issued Tuesday morning and is scheduled to expire Thursday at midnight. The alert, triggered by smoke from wildfires in Canada, affects cities in the southern and east-central parts of the state including the Twin Cities metro.
If it seems like there have been an unusually high number of air quality alerts this summer, MPCA says that's correct. The agency tweeted that Tuesday marked the 23rd air quality alert in Minnesota this year, breaking the previous record of 21 in 2021. Minnesota usually averages two or three alerts in a season.
St. Paul recorded the worst air quality in the United States two weeks ago due to smoke from Canadian wildfires.
The MPCA said cleaner air would begin to move into Minnesota on Wednesday afternoon via a cold front from the west.
While the AQI remains in the orange — meaning the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups — and red categories, the MPCA recommends people with breathing and heart conditions, high blood pressure, diabetes and other health conditions limit their time outdoors.
For more information about the current AQI, click here.
For more information about air quality and protecting your health, click here.
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