FORECAST: Code Orange air quality alert continues for Thursday

RALEIGH, N.C. (WITN) - State forecasters say the unhealthy air from those Canadian wildfires will continue to have Eastern Carolina under a Code Orange alert for air quality through Thursday night.

The latest forecast from the Department of Environmental Quality shows conditions for most of our area won’t change much on Thursday. It shows many counties with an air quality index from 130-150.

The forecast does show that index dropping to 101 on Friday for many counties, but that is still within Code Orange parameters, with another Air Quality Alert possible on Friday as well.

Smoke from the Canadian wildfires is being carried by steady upper-level winds into parts of Eastern N.C. A faint haze is visible across several counties in our area, and this may persist over the coming days.

Air Quality Alert: Code orange conditions will continue for all counties Thursday, which means sensitive groups, including people with lung diseases such as asthma and children should limit their physical activity outdoors. If you are outdoors, you should take more frequent breaks and dial back the intensity of your activity.

With an incoming front set to arrive tomorrow, winds will be shifting over the next two days, so any impacts from the smoke should be short lived here. Rain showers Wednesday afternoon through Wednesday night will help clear our air of any lingering particulates, however the smoke may return late in the week.

Here’s it pictured in Lenoir County.

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