Local News for June 7, 2023

- Air Quality Warning Stays In Effect -

The state Department of Environmental Conservation has issued another air quality warning for today. Smoke from Canadian wildfires is causing hazy skies and poor air quality across most of New York state including the southern Finger Lakes.  

Joanne Labounty is with the Binghamton office of the National Weather Service. She says, "It's probably going to be at least another day or two. And we’ll have to see what happens with fires and our northwest flow changing a bit over us as well."

Labounty says smoke is in the upper and lower atmosphere because it’s from fires in western Canada, as well as Quebec and Ontario. 

The DEC says the air quality is unhealthy for sensitive groups. They mean anyone with heart disease or respiratory problems, the elderly, or young children. And Tompkins County Whole Health says wearing an N95 or KN95 mask can reduce the amount of fine particles you inhale. Cloth or surgical masks are not effective.