EPA Research Partner Support Story: AirNow Fire and Smoke Map
Partner: Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states, Tribes and localities impacted by Canadian wildfires
Challenge: Accessing air quality information during a cross-border wildfire crisis
Resource: AirNow Fire and Smoke Map, in collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service
Project Period: 2023
In June 2023, a large number of active wildfires in Canada, combined with southward wind transport patterns, resulted in smoke and haze blanketing the eastern and midwestern United States. During this time, the added data from air sensors in the AirNow Fire and Smoke Map proved vital for users nationwide. This added data was made possible by an earlier collaborative effort between EPA ORD scientists and staff in EPA’s Office of Air Quality, Planning and Standards and the U.S. Forest Service. They developed a national calibration equation supporting the inclusion of PurpleAir sensor data in the Fire and Smoke Map, greatly enhancing the map’s usefulness to state, tribal and local agencies. The publicly available, crowdsourced PurpleAir data provides supplemental air quality information in areas between regulatory monitors. With the growing wildfire crisis leading to increased exposures to smoke, state and local air quality agencies need more refined air quality data to effectively prepare and respond to smoke events. The growth of public data from air sensors has helped address this need.
"With wildfire smoke having visible impacts in New Jersey and along the East Coast this year, ORD's work to make air quality and smoke data readily available through AirNow and the AirNow Fire and Smoke Map has been very valuable." – New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette
“This past summer, as much of the US has been impacted by the Canadian wildfire smoke, the EPA AirNow Fire and Smoke Map has been an invaluable tool for the New Jersey Department of Health. Such tools are instrumental in providing the agency with situational awareness about environmental conditions across the state that can affect health, which helps guide the development of timely and accurate public health messaging.” – New Jersey Department of Health Acting Commissioner Dr. Kaitlan Baston
The AirNow Fire and Smoke Map is one of the most accessed air quality tools for states and tribes as they work to prepare for and respond to wildfire smoke. On June 7, 2023, the AirNow Fire and Smoke Map received more than 1.3 million page views – nearly three times the previous high of roughly 0.48 million in August 2021.