Overview
- Minnesota’s Pollution Control Agency released its summer outlook Thursday, calling for 12 to 16 days affected by wildfire smoke and 4 to 6 days with ozone unhealthy for sensitive groups.
- Forecasters tie the risk to a strong El Niño and expected drought, which bring more warm, sunny days that help ozone form and raise the odds of wildfire smoke.
- The highest risk areas include Twin Cities suburbs and parts of southeastern Minnesota near Rochester, where local geography and heat can trap bad air close to the ground.
- Officials urge residents to check alerts, limit outdoor exertion on poor-air days, and use filtered indoor air, noting that smoke’s fine particles and ozone can strain hearts and lungs.
- The MPCA says conditions look similar to 2024; the Twin Cities logged 23 smoke-affected days last year, and a recent American Lung Association report ranked the metro poorly for short-term particle and ozone pollution.