ROCHESTER, N.Y. \u2014 The smoke in the air caused by Canadian wildfires is something New Yorkers can feel, see and smell this week.<\/p>\n
While plenty of people are heeding the advice of health experts to say indoors if possible, some folks were still out and about braving the smoky air.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
Smoke in the air is keeping many indoors, but some people continue outdoor activities
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Outdoor walkers and runners say they are feeling the effects of the smoke
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Health experts urge people to stay inside and, if they must be out, to wear an N95 mask<\/p>\n
Normally, health experts encourage heading outdoors and getting some exercise, but not now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can feel it,\u201d said Alicia Mizes of Rochester. \u201cIt’s a lot tougher. I mean, I feel like I can’t run as fast. My breathing is a lot heavier. So, I’m just doing it because I’m studying for a big exam, and I need it for my mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n
She is pounding the pavement for a run, despite the dangerous air quality.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I’m not straying far from my house, and my house is like a mile away,\u201d said Mizes. \u201cI’m going to stick within a mile of my house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cToday is not the day to go out running,\u201d said the commissioner of the New York state Department of Health, Dr. James McDonald. \u201cI like you to go outside as well, but if you do need to go out running and you have to, if you do put a mask on, a mask will protect you as long as it’s a 95 or an N95.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some people are taking that advice and taking the advice to stay inside. The parks, playgrounds and typically busy summer locations were virtually empty in many places across the state. Those who are taking to the outdoors say they can feel the effects of the smoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy nose is running and my eyes are burning yellow. And you could smell it,\u201d said walker Dawn Wells.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I’d get out early before the weather got really bad, before it got really heated up. I’ve seen a lot of people with masks on, so that is probably something I should have thought about,\u201d said walker Eric Johnson.<\/p>\n
The air is not healthy for animals either.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can smell it,\u201d pet owner Alan Dusseau said while taking his dogs, Cara and Jax, for a walk. \u201cThe dogs feel it. I feel it. We definitely cut our walk short today. Because definitely because of the smoke, it\u2019s bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it’s important to understand everyone’s at risk today,\u201d McDonald said. \u201cEveryone is not the same risk. There’s all these particles in the air that are very small, smaller than 2.5 microns. So, you can’t see them. But when you’re exercising, when you’re out there running, you’re inhaling all these particles. When you inhale, these particles are getting deep into your lungs. Over time, you will notice this becoming a problem, and you may start coughing, or it may not be until after you’ve had your workout.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ROCHESTER, N.Y. \u2014 The smoke in the air caused by Canadian wildfires is something New Yorkers can feel,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":298441,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[3242,9,11,10,49,51,50,12,115,200,133,1839],"class_list":["post-298440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-environment","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-new-york-state","tag-new-york-state-headlines","tag-new-york-state-news","tag-news","tag-rochester","tag-vod","tag-weather","tag-wendy-wright"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/298441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}