COLUMBIA, S.C. — Thursday, an air quality alert is still in effect for the Midlands area. As prescribed burns in the area increase the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) says this could be why residents are noticing more smoke and fog in the area.
“We are in the heart of prescribed burn season and that seems to be the main culprit of as to why we’re seeing the smoke and particulate matter,” Andrew Kingston said.
Kingston is a meteorologist with the DHEC's Bureau of Air Quality.
“We are seeing concentrations increase throughout the week because it kept loading as the days go by and there’s not a whole lot of wind movement so everything’s sort of just sitting over us day after day,” he said.
DHEC issued an air quality alert early Thursday morning, for multiple counties in the Midlands, advising those with respiratory health issues to stay inside.
“Luckily we have a front that will move in tomorrow to help push a lot of this out. The alert is actually up until 10 am tomorrow because tonight things could settle down and be stagnant and just sit over us again. After that the front will move towards us and help blow everything away, we should be okay after that,” Kingston said.
School districts in the area such as Richland One and Richland Two, canceled all outdoor activities including recess and athletic practices.
Doctors says poor air quality in the area can have an impact on those with allergies and asthma.
“On those days when air quality is poor, staying indoors is not a bad idea if you know these things trigger. avoid the heat of the day so get out if you’re going to exercise, recreational or otherwise, early in morning or later in the evening,” Dr. Todd Gandy said.
Dr. Gandy is a pulmonologist with Prisma Health.
“These elements that we’re exposed to in the environment travel down into our air tubes, they travel into the distal portions of our lungs and the immune system can react to those in an adverse way and can cause inflammation. Folks with COPD and asthma are already susceptible to inflammation in the airways,” he said.
DHEC officials say poor air quality alerts are common and can happen again during prescribed burn season.
“The possibility is always there during prescribed burn season for us to have another alert. It just so happens this time that the weather conditions are pretty spot on for not a lot of movement and that’s why we’re seeing more of the effects that we normally would this time of year if you have a little more wind it usually pushes out pretty easily,” Kingston said.