Hazy skies have moved into the Topeka area because of wildfires burning in the northwestern portion of the country. According to National Fire Interagency Center, there are 90 fires burning across 12 states. More than 1.8 million acres have been burned.
What is causing the haze?
Haze is caused when sunlight encounters tiny pollution particles in the air. Some light is absorbed by particles. Other light is scattered away before it reaches an observer. More pollutants mean more absorption and scattering of light, which reduce the clarity and color of what we see.
Why does Topeka smell like smoke?
But meteorologists say the scent is probably coming from large grass fires happening many miles to the west in central Kansas. The National Weather Service said on Twitter Wednesday night that the smell was settling around the metropolitan area as large wildfires continued to burn west of Topeka.
Why is it so smoky outside in Kansas?
Why is it so smoky outside? According to the National Weather Service, southwest winds brought in smoke and dust from wildfires in Kansas.
Does Kansas have good air quality?
This shows that Kansas City has a somewhat decent level of air quality, coming in at 2207th place out of all cities ranked worldwide, as well as in 2nd place out of all cities ranked in Kansas state.
Why does it look hazy outside?
Since warm air has much more water vapor in the air when the air is saturated as compared to cold air, the effect of haziness is especially evident on warm and humid days. Water vapor merging onto particulates makes them bigger and thus visibility gets reduced. Wind speed is a factor also.
What is haze vs fog?
Fog and haze are both weather phenomena of obstruction to vision. Fog is composed of a large number of tiny water droplets or ice crystals that suspended in near-surface air. Haze is a large number of tiny dry dust particles floating uniformly in the air[1–4].
Why does Topeka smell?
Recent rainfall and releases from reservoirs have caused a river flow and turbidity increase in the Kansas River. Topeka’s water comes from the Kansas River and occasionally the river has unusually high levels of organic matter which can cause taste and odor issues.
Where is all the smoke coming from in northeast Kansas?
HAYS, KS (KSNT) – Many residents in eastern Kansas have reported the smell of smoke in the air. This is likely being caused by large fires in Ellis County according to the National Weather Service. Copyright 2022 Nexstar Media Inc.
Why do I smell smoke?
The term for this type of olfactory hallucination is dysosmia. Common causes of dysosmia are head and nose injury, viral damage to the smell system after a bad cold, chronic recurrent sinus infections and allergy, and nasal polyps and tumors. The brain is usually not the source.
Where is the smoke over Kansas coming from?
Meteorologists from the National Weather Service said the smoke is likely from the wildfires in central Kansas, particularly in Ellis County.
Why are Iowans smelling smoke?
As the storm system moved into Nebraska and then Iowa, it brought along the dust, dirt, and smoke from Kansas, said Craig Cogil, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in the Des Moines metro.
How did Kansas wildfires start?
Hurricane-Force Winds Spark Wildfires in Kansas, Destroying Homes and Killing Cattle. Wildfire (Reno County Fire Dept.) High winds and dry conditions resulted in multiple wildfires in western Kansas on Wednesday. At least a dozen homes burned and at least three people were hospitalized.
Does Kansas have smog?
Kansas Smog Check / Emissions Test
The State of Kansas does not have any vehicle emissions test requirements since the state lacks any metropolitan areas that do not comply with the U.S. Clean Air Act.
What is air quality in Kansas today?
Kansas City air quality index (AQI) forecast
| Day | Pollution level | Temperature |
|---|---|---|
| Today | Good 37 US AQI | 93.2°69.8° |
| Friday, Aug 5 | Good 33 US AQI | 100.4°78.8° |
| Saturday, Aug 6 | Good 31 US AQI | 100.4°78.8° |
| Sunday, Aug 7 | Good 33 US AQI | 93.2°71.6° |
What is causing poor air quality in Kansas City?
The most common culprits of low-quality air are pollutants such as hydrocarbons and dust. Hydrocarbons are released from industrial use and automobile exhaust.
How haze can affect your health?
Haze particles can sometimes affect the heart and lungs, especially in people who already have chronic heart or lung disease e.g. asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or heart failure. There may be up to one to three days of time between exposure to haze and health effects/ symptoms.
What does haze in weather mean?
Haze. A suspension in the air of extremely small, dry particles that are invisible to the naked eye and sufficiently numerous to give the air an opalescent appearance. That is the scientific way of saying haze is air pollution. There is often not much difference in the appearance of ‘haze’ and ‘mist’.
What does hazy sky mean?
hazy Add to list Share. If it’s hazy, it’s definitely not clear — there’s fog, mist, smoke or something like that blurring the view. Hazy usually describes a sky that’s fogged over or otherwise unclear.
How can you tell the difference between fog and smog?
Unlike fog, you can actually smell the smog and know the difference! While fog is whiter in colour, the air we see around us has tones of grey, which the scientists term as smog and not fog. While fog eventually dips down, smog persists in the air and transfers smoke-like particles which we end up ingesting.
Is haze fog or smog?
Mist and fog are caused by water droplets in the air, and the only difference is how far you can see. Haze is the reflection of sunlight off air pollution, while smog is what happens when pollution causes low-lying ozone.