Minnesota’s air quality alert, which had been slated to expire Saturday evening, has been extended to noon on Monday.
Winds are still expected to shift and start driving unhealthy air north and out of the state on Saturday. But the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said Friday that may be slower to happen now that Canadian wildfire smoke has drifted as far south as Tennessee and Missouri.
The latest round of wildfire smoke from Manitoba and Saskatchewan began covering Minnesota on Tuesday, frustrating summer plans just as rains lifted and extreme temperatures cooled.
Much of the state since then has experienced air quality considered unhealthy for everyone, and residents have been advised to limit prolonged time and heavy exertion outdoors.
The MPCA said smoke concentrations will begin declining Saturday, but it’s unclear when parts of the state might improve from smoke that’s unhealthy for everyone to smoke that’s unhealthy for sensitive groups. Officials said smoke unhealthy for sensitive groups could hang on through Sunday and into Monday.
Sensitive groups of people include those with asthma and other breathing conditions, heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes, as well as those who are pregnant, children and older adults.
