Overview

• Bay Area remains under a Spare the Air advisory through Friday as PM2.5 concentrations hover below unhealthy thresholds and improvements are expected by Saturday.
• Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has extended a statewide air quality alert until at least Monday morning after northern regions reached very unhealthy levels, central areas registered unhealthy conditions, and southern zones fell into the unhealthy-for-sensitive-groups category.
• Authorities in both regions advise residents—especially children, older adults, and those with respiratory or heart conditions—to stay indoors, keep windows and doors closed, and use indoor air filtration or visit clean-air centers.
• A second wave of smoke from Canadian wildfires is forecast to move into northwest Minnesota Friday evening and could prolong the air quality alert into Saturday before winds shift.
• Meteorologists predict an eastward wind shift that should clear smoke from the Bay Area by Saturday and usher in cleaner air for Minnesota by Sunday afternoon.