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The Air Quality Index: What it is, and how to understand it

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Understanding Air Quality Index (AQI) This image is from the News10.com, and is used to serve as evidence of the environmental effects that the Canadian wildfires imposed on the U.S. The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a standardized system of measurement that uses a system of numbers and colors to represent the air quality in a certain area. It allows people to easily understand how polluted or clean the air is in their location, and its potential effects on their health. It appears as such:                                                                                   The Air Quality Index of Warrington, PA on Nov. 1, 2023 next to a description of each number range and color that the AQI utilizes. Both are from AirNow.gov. I remember seeing red a...
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PM2.5 Bodily Effects: What they are, and their connection to awareness of air pollutants

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                      How can PM2.5 absorption affect the human body? This image is derived from the United States Environmental Protection Agency's page on the health effects of PM2.5 upon exposure to the human body. Heart and asthma attacks, links to cancer, bronchitis, and irritation of the ears, notes, and throat. The ability of PM2.5 to easily reach deep inside the lungs and into the bloodstream are what give it its potential to expose a person to numerous fatal health risks.  How can awareness of these dangerous pollutants be increased? Comment what you think.
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Nationwide Smoke Dispersion from Canadian Wildfires

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Unprecedented Impact of Canadian Wildfire on Philadelphia during Summer of 2023 This image from the NASA Earth Observatory, showing the concentrations of black carbon (from wildfire smoke) across the United States and Canada. The high smoke concentrations in the northeast, as a result of the Canadian wildfires from Quebec, Canada is shown in the above image. It can be observed that the long-range transport of the smoke particles that widened zone of coverage, carried them from states in New England, to the southern states without much interruption.  Climate change, a lack of manpower, and a poorly established system in handling wildfires led to the long-range spread of the smoke particles.     
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