Off the Radar Podcast — “Smoke Without Borders: Wildfires, Air Quality, and the Climate Connection”

Date: August 19, 2025
Host: Emily Gracey, The National Weather Desk

Episode Overview

This episode of Off the Radar explores the increasing prevalence of wildfire smoke across North America, how air quality is affected, and the crucial role of climate change in expanding the impact of these fires. Host Emily Gracey is joined by two meteorologists—Shel Winkley from Climate Central and Alec Konacki from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy—to examine how smokes travels, the science of attribution, air quality indexes, public safety guidance, and surprising weather–climate interconnections.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Wildfire Smoke: A Cross-Border Issue

• 2025’s Unprecedented Wildfire Activity
  • The year has seen destructive fires from California to Arizona’s Grand Canyon and throughout Canada, with smoke affecting air quality in at least 11 U.S. states.
    • “Wildfire smoke knows no boundaries.” — Emily Gracey [00:14]
• Particulate Matter & Health Hazards
  • Fine particulate matter from wildfire smoke travels for hundreds to thousands of miles and poses significant health risks as it can reach deep into lungs and even the bloodstream.
    • “It can get deep into your lungs and even into your bloodstream.” — Shel Winkley [00:49]

The Complex Dance of Smoke & Weather

• Long-Distance Impacts
  • Smoke in your region could originate from fires far away, influenced by shifting weather patterns tracked by meteorologists.
    • “The smoke you're breathing today may not be from the fire you're seeing on the news.” — Emily Gracey [01:00]
• Climate Connection
  • The 2019–2020 Australian bushfires cooled the Pacific Ocean, helping trigger a multi-year La Niña, with global ripple effects—including warmer southern U.S. winters and increased hurricane activity.
    • “It's a stark reminder that everything on this planet is interconnected.” — Emily Gracey [01:29]

Interview I: Shel Winkley (Climate Central)

Are Wildfires Worsening?

• Accumulative Trend
  • More frequent and longer-lasting “fire days” are being observed, not just locally but globally.
    • “Fire days are becoming more common… this is almost a worldwide issue.” — Shel Winkley [05:04]
• Defining “Wildfire Days”
  • These are days with a combination of high temperatures, low humidity, and wind—ideal conditions for fast fire spread.
    • "Wildfire days… hot days that have low humidity… very windy days." — Shel Winkley [05:57]
  • Even if you aren’t near a fire, smoke can drift into your region.
    • "Wildfire smoke doesn't have borders." — Shel Winkley [06:34]

Climate’s Role in Wildfire Risk

• Attribution Science Explained
  • Using climate models, scientists can now compare the likelihood of extreme weather events with and without the influence of greenhouse gas emissions.
    • “Now what we can do… is essentially take our modeling... One, with all the historical emissions... and then we run it again without those gases… and you get a ratio.” — Shel Winkley [10:34]
  • Example: The heatwave that fueled recent Canadian wildfires was made 4–5 times more likely due to climate change.
• Long-Term Effects
  • Despite short weather breaks, underlying climate-driven heat and drought quickly resume, re-fueling fire and smoke risks.
    • “You may break that heat, but then it may quickly build back in beyond what is typical.” — Shel Winkley [07:42]
• Wildfires’ Impact on Climate
  • Fires strip vegetation, increasing flood risk from intense rain—a feedback loop worsened by climate change.
    • “It does at least link these different portions together. That takes a natural disaster and makes it slightly unnatural.” — Shel Winkley [11:56]

Fire Season Outlook & Public Action

• Longer and Earlier Seasons
  • Western U.S. is seeing 25–55 more annual “fire weather days” compared to the past.
  • “The west has added anywhere from 25 to 55 days on average per year that have these… fire weather days.” — Shel Winkley [13:29]
• What Can Individuals Do?
  • Reduce fossil fuel use; plant native species; increase local awareness and communication.
    • “Conversation and communication is a climate solution.” — Shel Winkley [14:28], [17:01]
  • Reliable data is available at airnow.gov and localized info at climatecentral.org.
• Memorable Sign-Off:
  • “Remember what our old friend Smokey Bear once told us, only you can prevent forest fires and only you can prevent climate change.” — Shel Winkley [17:01]

Interview II: Alec Konacki (Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy)

Air Quality Index: Reading the Alerts

• AQI Categories Explained
  • Green (Good), Yellow (Moderate), Orange (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, “action” threshold), Red (Unhealthy), Purple (Very Unhealthy), Maroon (Hazardous).
    • “Nationwide… we use the orange AQI, the unhealthy for sensitive groups range, as kind of a threshold for issuing an air quality advisory.” — Alec Konacki [17:46]
• How Alerts Reach the Public
  • State meteorologists coordinate with the National Weather Service for wide distribution; this cascades through weather apps, TV, and web.
    • “We contact our local National Weather Service offices to tell them… Can you just put this out… because they obviously have a bigger footprint than us.” — Alec Konacki [19:21]

The Role of Weather in Air Quality

• Smoke vs. Ozone
  • Smoke risk is linked to wind direction & speed.
  • Ozone depends more on hot, sunny, lightly breezy days, especially over industrial regions and along lakeshores.
    • “For a typical ozone day… we like to look for days that are 80 plus degrees Fahrenheit, dew points around 55 to 65.” — Alec Konacki [20:47]
    • Lake Michigan “double bakes” ozone plumes, worsening southwestern Michigan’s air at times.
      • “My senior meteorologist… likes to say that the southern Lake Michigan basin kind of acts like a double bake oven.” — Alec Konacki [28:18]

Staying Safe During Poor Air Quality

• Health Recommendations

  • Stay indoors, close windows, use central A/C with high-grade filters (MERV 13+).
  • If outside, heed physical symptoms (watering eyes, cough, sinus irritation) and consider N95 masks.
    • “Trust your body. If you notice your sinuses are acting up… that’s your body telling you it’s getting impacted.” — Alec Konacki [24:23]

• Smoke Composition: Does It Matter What Burns?

  • Yes—industrial/residential fires add synthetic chemicals to smoke, though specifics are hard to measure regionally.
    • “If it’s burning just straight up biomass… or going through an industrial area… obviously there’s more chemicals involved there.” — Alec Konacki [25:50]

Feedback Loops: Smoke Impact on Weather

• Wildfire Smoke as ‘Pseudo Clouds’
  • Smoke layers can block sunlight, lowering afternoon temperatures and reducing ozone formation.
    • “Wildfire smoke kind of acts as like a pseudo cloud… can kind of blanket us and kind of keep the temperatures cooler.” — Alec Konacki [27:25]

Air Quality "Naughty and Nice" Regions

• Better & Worse Air Quality
  • Rural/northern areas tend to have better air than industrial or urban/lakeshore-downwind locales.
    • “The southern Lake Michigan basin acts like a double bake oven… those pollutants just blow over the lake, sit there for a day or two, and then… blow into southwest Michigan.” — Alec Konacki [28:18]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Wildfire smoke doesn’t have borders.” — Shel Winkley [06:34]
• “It’s a stark reminder that everything on this planet is interconnected.” — Emily Gracey [01:29]
• “Now what we can do with attribution science is… run it with and without greenhouse gas emissions and you get a ratio.” — Shel Winkley [10:34]
• “Only you can prevent climate change. We just have to work on it together.” — Shel Winkley [17:01]
• “Trust your body. …That’s your body telling you it’s getting impacted by the wildfire smoke.” — Alec Konacki [24:23]
• “The southern Lake Michigan basin acts like a double bake oven.” — Alec Konacki [28:18]

Timestamps for Major Segments

• [00:00–01:45] — Introduction, 2025 wildfires and smoke overview
• [01:45–04:36] — Emily's setup, scientific backstory, guest introductions
• [04:36–16:59] — Interview with Shel Winkley: fire trends, climate connections, attribution science, what individuals can do
• [17:26–30:01] — Interview with Alec Konacki: AQI system, how alerts work, public health, smoke’s effect on weather, regional air quality
• [30:01–end] — Closing acknowledgements

Conclusion

This episode offers an in-depth look at the far-reaching, complex, and climate-linked problem of wildfire smoke, combining nuanced science with practical advice. Through expert insights, listeners gain clarity on how fire seasons are intensifying, why no region is immune to drifting smoke, how to interpret air quality alerts, and what individual and collective actions can help protect health and influence policy. The tone, like the host, is explanatory, compassionate, and focused on equipping listeners with both knowledge and motivation.