I’m not proud to admit this, but when I was young and seemingly Teflon I smoked (a little). Last week’s thick smoke reminded me of research at the University of California, Berkeley. Breathing in a day’s worth of wildfire smoke with an Air Quality Index of 200 or more (very unhealthy air) is the rough equivalent of smoking 8-10 cigarettes.
It’s been another smoky summer to rival 2023. David Brown at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency provided perspective: 12 alerts for bad air statewide as of July 15. In 2023, 11 alerts had been issued for Minnesota by midsummer.
According to ChatGPT-4o there are an estimated 440 billion trees in Canada. Yes, forest management is important, but I’m not sure Canada can “rake” their way out of a worrisome upward trend in vast wildfires.
Thursday was blue-sky perfection, a hint of late September. Comfortable 70s linger into the weekend with 90F by the middle of next week, maybe a streak of 90s the end of July. But this weekend looks partly sunny and pleasant.
Maybe thank a Canadian for this free AC. The smoky days? It’s not their fault.
