When Will The Smoke Clear In VA, DC? 'Code Purple' In Friday Forecast

VIRGINIA/DC — Thick smoke has been moving south into Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia on Thursday, with air quality index numbers rising from the wildfires in Canada, causing Code Purple alerts to be issued for the first time, according to reports.

The air quality is so hazardous that the National Zoo is closed, a White House outdoor event was pushed back to Saturday, and the Washington Nationals rescheduled tonight's ball game.

A Code Purple air quality alert indicates very unhealthy air conditions for everyone, not just those with respiratory illnesses, according to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

Come Friday morning, a second intense cloud of smoke will sweep toward D.C., Maryland and coastal Virginia, the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang forecast. The potential exists for pollution levels to match what residents saw Thursday morning. It will linger much of Friday in eastern areas, but improvement should arrive from the west as the smoke is pushed offshore.

"Everyone may experience more serious health effects and should avoid outdoor activities, especially individuals with heart and breathing ailments, children, and older adults," the council of governments said about the Code Purple air quality.

The D.C. region has not previously recorded a Code Purple day for fine particle pollution, the type of air pollution currently being experienced, according to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

Major League Baseball announced it has postponed Thursday afternoon's game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in D.C. due to the poor air quality. The game had been scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET.

The game has been rescheduled for Thursday, June 22 at 1:05 p.m. All tickets and parking passes will be honored for the rescheduled game.

Air quality alerts are in effect through early Friday in the D.C. area. The smoke is expected to subside as winds become more northwesterly into the weekend, according to The Washington Post. CNN reported that officials expect local conditions to improve "significantly" by late Friday or early Saturday.

Air quality may change depending on your location throughout the day. The best way to get the most accurate air quality alerts in your neighborhood is through AirNow.gov.

A Pride event scheduled for Thursday evening on the White House South Lawn was postponed to Saturday because of the hazardous air quality, the White House said. The National Zoo announced that it has closed Thursday due to the poor air quality.

Schools across Northern Virginia and D.C. have canceled outdoor activities. Due to the ongoing air quality alert in the area, Fairfax County Public Schools said it canceled all outdoor activities scheduled on Thursday, including recess, physical education classes, sports and other activities.

Arlington Public Schools said it is closely monitoring outdoor air quality. "All field trips scheduled for today to outdoor locations have been canceled," APS said. "All outdoor activities, including outdoor after-school activities, are canceled."

In Loudoun County, the parks and recreation department has canceled all outdoor programs and activities on Thursday due to the Code Purple alert issued for Northern Virginia. All athletic fields, outdoor pools and spray pads in the county will be closed on Thursday.

D.C. Public Schools also canceled all outdoor activities for Thursday due to the unhealthy air quality. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and officials from D.C. Health are urging residents to follow precautions related to the Code Purple air quality alert.

"We have not seen an uptick in hospitalizations due to air quality concerns," Chris Rodriguez, director of the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency for D.C., said at a media briefing Thursday.

When the air quality index is above 200 (Code Purple or Maroon), all groups should stay indoors as much as possible, the D.C. government said. Those people who must work outside should wear a N95 or KN95 equivalent mask.

To check current air conditions in your area, follow Airnow.gov. At 8 a.m. Thursday, Northern Virginia and D.C. were in Code Purple conditions, which means pollution in the air is "very unhealthy" and the risks of health effects increase for everyone.

The D.C. region has not previously recorded a Code Purple day for fine particle pollution. In 2012, the region recorded two days for ozone pollution that would qualify as Code Purple by the current 2015 standards.

The weather service forecast calls for widespread haze and smoke through Thursday night. On Friday, showers are likely and possibly a thunderstorm, mainly after 2 p.m. Widespread haze is still forecast before 2 p.m. on Friday.

The Environmental Protection Agency monitors how polluted or clear the air is with the Air Quality Index. The scale runs from 0 to 500. Each range on the AQI is given a color. Green is the zero to 50 part of the range, and qualifies as "good" air quality; yellow is 51 to 100, and qualifies as "moderate" air.

Code Orange is the part of the range from 101 to 150, and means the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups. A code red, which ranges from 151 to 200, is unhealthy for everyone. Code Purple means everyone is as risk of health impacts. Once you get to 301 and higher, people are more likely to be sickened.

People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should take these precautions:

The director of the asthma center at Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C., said air conditions could be particularly dangerous for children with asthma. Shilpa J. Patel told The Washington Post parents should keep all children indoors, especially those with asthma, and to have them wear N95 face masks if they go outside.

If children start coughing or have trouble breathing, they should start use their rescue inhalers every four hours, Patel said. Parents should call their child's primary care provider, too.

Everyone else — take any of these steps to reduce your exposure:

Clean Air Partners — which issues air quality forecasts for the Washington-Baltimore region — has Code Red air conditions for the entire area. An air quality alert means that fine particulates concentrations within the region may approach or exceed unhealthy standards.

On unhealthy air days, authorities suggest these health precautions:

To help reduce air pollution:

For more information on air quality in the region, visit the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments websites.