ROCHESTER, N.Y. – As Canada’s wildfire season intensifies, residual smoke continues to drift into Western New York, affecting local air quality. The most recent data shows there are now more than 1,700 active wildfires across Canada, with over 7.8 million acres (equivalent to approximately 7,700 square miles) already burned. Much of this fire activity is concentrated in the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia.
These numbers reflect a significant increase from just one week ago. At the current pace, the 2025 wildfire season is on track to become the second most severe on record, surpassed only by the record breaking 2023 season.
Air quality monitoring, particularly through the Air Quality Index (AQI) available at AirNow.gov, has been very important in tracking the impact of this smoke. The AQI measures pollutants like ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), the latter being the most related indicator of wildfire smoke. Elevated PM2.5 levels can be harmful to human health, especially for sensitive individuals.
Over the past week, AQI levels in Western New York have varied considerably. Conditions have ranged from good (green) to moderate (yellow), and at times have reached levels classified as unhealthy for sensitive groups (orange). The most concerning air quality readings occurred this past weekend, when smoke concentrations temporarily spiked. Looking back over the past month, the beginning of June marked the point when noticeable changes in air quality began to emerge.
Looking ahead, forecast models suggest that light smoke will continue to move in and out of the Rochester area. These fluctuations are driven by changes in wind direction, which determines where the smoke travels from day to day.
First Alert Weather In-Depth: Measuring the air we breathe WHEC.com.
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