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University of Vermont buildings and others are seen through haze in a view from the beltline in Burlington on Tuesday, July 15. Photo by Glenn Russell\/VTDigger<\/p>\nUniversity of Vermont buildings and others are seen through haze in a view from the beltline in Burlington on Tuesday, July 15. Photo by Glenn Russell\/VTDigger<\/p>\n
A wafting trail of Canadian wildfire smoke has blanketed Vermont, triggering air quality alerts across the state and causing a haze to block out its mountain views.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The National Weather Service issued a Code Orange air quality alert <\/a>for Addison, Rutland and Windsor on Wednesday, a slight improvement from the statewide alerts on Monday and Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n Officials have urged Vermonters with health risks to be cautious. The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation said in an emailed statement that wildfire smoke pollutants can cause an array of health effects.\u00a0<\/p>\n To many Vermonters, the haze of recent days is reminiscent of 2023, when record-breaking wildfires<\/a> in Quebec and Ontario sent smoke southward. To health officials, this latest string of alerts is the harbinger of a worrying trend.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThese recurrent episodes of wildfire smoke are a new and serious risk for Vermont air quality,\u201d said David Grass, senior environmental health program manager at the state Department of Health.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here are some details about the recent wildfires, what we know about the rise of air quality issues and how to protect your health.\u00a0<\/p>\n Is Vermont\u2019s air quality getting worse?<\/p>\n Historically, Vermont has been able to boast having some of the cleanest air in the nation. Burlington was once regularly ranked<\/a> one of the \u201ccleanest cities\u201d by the American Lung Association for both ozone and particle pollution.\u00a0<\/p>\n But it fell off the list in 2023 as particle pollution worsened, said Bennet Leon, planning section chief at the Department for Environmental Conservation.\u00a0<\/p>\n Data from air quality monitoring stations<\/a> at three state sites seems to show that there\u2019s been little change in air quality on average in winter, spring and fall. It\u2019s the periods of acute pollution, like this week\u2019s wildfire smoke, that seem to be worsening the overall air quality.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve definitely seen \u2026 a lot more wildfire smoke impacting Vermont in the last five years than we saw for a number of years prior,\u201d Leon said.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the same time, it can be hard to predict when, and how, wildfires could impact Vermont in the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere are predictions with climate change that wildfires will increase, and their severity will increase, but it doesn\u2019t mean that every year is going to be worse than the last,\u201d he said. \u201cThere will still be variability from year to year.\u201d<\/p>\n The department has aimed to help Vermonters understand that \u201cdealing with wildfire smoke is going to be part of our future,\u201d Grass said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to learn how to live with it,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd if we want to live with it and not have it adversely impact our health, then we have to figure out how to stay healthy in spite of it.\u201d<\/p>\n How does wildfire smoke impact Vermonters\u2019 health?<\/p>\n The primary pollutant from wildfire smoke is known as PM 2.5, or particulate matter that is 2.5 microns or less in diameter, Grass said. Compare that with the width of a human hair, which measures 50 to 120 microns.\u00a0<\/p>\n Those small particles can pass into the bloodstream, causing inflammation that can lead to a broad range of symptoms \u2014 from irritated eyes and runny noses, to respiratory symptoms like coughing and asthma attacks, to cardiovascular symptoms like a rapid heartbeat and chest pain, Grass said.\u00a0<\/p>\n He likened it to the \u201ccumulative stress of, essentially, being a smoker when you\u2019re a non-smoker.\u201d<\/p>\n Those effects are more likely when you have health conditions that already affect those systems of your body, like heart disease or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to the health department website<\/a>. It can also impact children, older people and pregnant people more easily.\u00a0<\/p>\n The health department has only recently begun to track the effects of wildfire smoke incidents on population health. In 2023, department data showed an uptick in emergency department and urgent care visits tied to COPD, Grass said.\u00a0<\/p>\n In emerging research, air quality has also been linked to a variety of long-term health effects like premature births<\/a>, worsening dementia symptoms<\/a> and mental health issues<\/a>, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n And poor air quality has delivered a hit to Vermonters\u2019 overall well-being and quality of life in a state so reliant on outdoor recreation, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a short summer. It\u2019s glorious, and we try to make the most of it,\u201d Grass said. \u201cAnd when the air quality is as bad as it is, and has been recently, that is a significant obstacle to us being able to take advantage of all of the wonderful opportunities outdoors.\u201d<\/p>\n How can you protect yourself from wildfire smoke pollution?<\/p>\n The best way to protect yourself when air quality is poor is to simply stay inside with your windows and doors closed, according to the health department\u2019s website. It suggests avoiding outdoor activity or limiting it to a shorter duration.\u00a0<\/p>\n Grass acknowledged that may be more difficult for some Vermonters than others. In a state with relatively low access to air conditioning<\/a>, sealing yourself off from air flow could also make it more difficult to keep your home cool, he said, potentially creating \u201ca dangerous situation inside.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n