ALBANY COUNTY — The Albany area on Thursday, June 15, along with part of the Adirondacks had “moderate” as opposed to “good” air quality, according to AirNow.gov, a website run in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency.

“If you are unusually sensitive to particle pollution, consider reducing your activity level or shorten the amount of time you are active outdoors,” says the site.

On Thursday evening, the governor’s office issued a release saying the state’s departments of health and environmental conservation “continue to closely monitor air quality for impacts from Canadian wildfires, as well as ozone and other pollutants.”

“While we continue to monitor air quality and our brave Forest Rangers assist with wildfire suppression efforts in Quebec, smoke from the Canadian wildfires is expected to impact air quality across the state tomorrow," Governor Kathy Hochul said in the release. “Levels are expected to be far below what we experienced last week, but I encourage all New Yorkers to remain vigilant. If you are in a vulnerable group, please monitor the latest information and take steps to protect yourself.”

On June 15,  Quebec’s fire prevention agency, Société de protection des forêts contre le feu, reported 106 active wildfires, down from 111 on June 13 and 125 on June 9. Most of the smoke had been blanketing the midwest rather than the northeastern part of the United States as it had the previous week.

The statewide forecast for tomorrow, Friday, June 16, shows smoke from Canadian wildfires is expected to be visible high in the atmosphere with moderate levels of fine particulate pollution at ground level.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Air Quality Index, the forecasted moderate levels are far below the levels experienced by New Yorkers last week and below the threshold for issuing an air quality health advisory.

Moderate levels are when the index is between 51 and 100, which means air quality is acceptable, with potential moderate health concerns for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.

Air quality health advisories are issued when meteorologists forecast levels of pollution, most commonly ozone and particulate matter, to exceed an AQI value of 100. If the AQI exceeds 100, the EPA lists these precautions.