Smoke from Canadian wildfires could slightly impact air quality in Arkansas this week, officials said Tuesday.
Smoke and haze from hundreds of wildfires in Canada persisted across the Great Lakes, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. Warnings of dangerous conditions were expected to remain in effect through Saturday across a wide swath of the U.S., though there’s potential for temporary improvement with storms forecast in some affected areas during the weekend.
Although the northern part of the United States has seen the greatest air quality impacts, some areas in Arkansas could see residual smoke, Charley Kelly, a meteorlogist with the National Weather Service in North Little Rock, said Tuesday.
“You can see a little bit of a haze over north and northeast Arkansas,” Kelly said. “There’s a trough of low pressure that is steering a lot of the winds north and east of the state itself, so the smoke is staying aloft.”
Smoke should remain around 23,000 feet in the air throughout the week with a slight haze over the next few days, he said.
Although air quality will likely remain moderate throughout the week, extreme heat conditions could increase the risks of poor air, the forecaster said.
“It is going to impact those that have breathing problems in general because of the air itself,” Kelly said. “When it’s reaching probably 100 or higher in some areas, that’s just going to make it hard for people to breathe.”
In an email to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Tuesday, Ashley Whitlow, a spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Health, described the groups most at risk when air quality worsens.
“The groups most vulnerable to the poor air quality are those working outdoors, those with asthma, COPD or other chronic diseases, and, of course, those in vulnerable age or stage of life,” Whitlow said.
Vulnerable groups also include children, older adults and those who are pregnant, she said.
Arkansans can prevent health effects from poor air quality by monitoring the air quality index, available online through the National Weather Service, before planning outdoor activities, Whitlow said.
Those at risk can also run air conditioners in recirculate mode and use portable HEPA air cleaners, she said.
The air quality index reported moderate air quality in Central and Northwest Arkansas and good air quality in southwest Arkansas, the weather service website said Tuesday.
Jacie Sellars
Jacie Sellars is the morning breaking news reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. She joined the newspaper in May 2026 after graduating from Ouachita Baptist University with degrees in multimedia journalism and Spanish.
