HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — While Thursday’s air quality presented challenges for many in central Pennsylvania, state officials expect Friday to be worse.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a rare Code Purple Air Quality Alert for Friday, July 17 as wildfire smoke from Canada and the upper Midwest smother the state.
What are Code Purple and Code Maroon? Behind the air quality alerts above Code Red
The alert applies statewide though officials said conditions could be better or worse locally.
Kaylee Lindenmuth / abc27 News — Wildfire smoke blankets Mount Carmel, Northumberland County on July 16, 2026.
The Department of Environmental Protection uses the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality Index for alerts and purple is the second-highest on the chart.
All residents, the department said said, should avoid long or intense outdoor activities and sensitive groups like children, elders, and those with respiratory illnesses should avoid all outdoor activities.
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The department typically issues air quality alerts based on the Air Quality Index for Pennsylvania’s heavily-populated metropolitan areas. Statewide alerts are rare and were last seen when statewide Code Red and Code Orange alerts were issued for the 2023 smoke conditions.
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