Michigan: Here’s How to Check Your Area’s Air Quality

Many Michigan residents woke up to smoke-filled, hazy air this morning. It's only getting worse today, too. Yesterday (June 27), Detroit had the second worst air quality in the world. The chart only includes major cities, so outside of Detroit, many smaller Michigan cities also saw poor air quality, such as Lasing, Grand Rapids, Flint and other cities. Today (June 28), that trend continues, as Detroit still has the No. 2 worst air quality in the world. Now, there's a map where you can find your local Michigan air quality.

What's different today is that Detroit's air quality is actually worse than Chicago. Yesterday, Chicago has the No. 1 worst air quality in the world. Today, Chicago is at No. 3. Dubai is at No. 1. These numbers are according to iqair.com. The next U.S. city to make the list is Minneapolis, Minnesota, at No. 4. Find the current list of the cities with the poorest air qualities here.

So, what if you want to see exactly how your area is doing when it comes to air quality? The site IQAir.com has a map showing the air quality in your given state. When I currently look at the map, Detroit, by far, has the worst air quality index at 225. Other cities in danger include Lansing at 151, Grand Rapids at 191 and Toledo, Ohio, at 185. You can see your exact area by clicking the map here.

No matter where you are in Michigan, it appears the air quality is not good. The National Weather Service in Detroit states, "Wednesday June 28th has been declared an Air Quality Action Day for elevated levels of particulate matter (PM2.5) due to Canadian wildfire smoke moving in. Sensitive groups should limit prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion tomorrow."

In Michigan, do we have any real risk of an earthquake? Everyone knows of the obvious places where you have to worry about experiencing an earthquake. But sometimes, there are less obvious spots, too.

A new study looks at the locations with the highest potential of earthquakes. A lot of them are in major cities. A few include Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Salt Lake City and Memphis. That's according to government research done by FEMA.

In case you were wondering, earthquakes are costly. That's not to shame the states that have the most earthquakes, of course. Hurricanes are costly, too. So, whether you live in California, where earthquakes are likely, or in other areas across America where hurricanes happen, chances are, your area is taking up funding to cover these disasters. As it turns out, southern California coastal counties and the Bay Area are the most costly when it comes to earthquake damage. "Los Angeles County with $2.68 billion in annualized losses is more than three times greater than the second highest county (Santa Clara, California)," the FEMA report states. "The counties containing the Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake, and Memphis metropolitan areas also have relatively high AELs."

Michigan ranks No. 37 and No. 46, respectively, out of the states for the report's "Ranking of States by Annualized Earthquake Loss and Annualized Earthquake Loss Ratios (AELR)." When it comes to Michigan's risk, an interactive map shows the area is at "Very Low" or "Lowest" risk for an earthquake, with the northern part of the state at the lowest risk.

Find the interactive map via CNN below and see where your area lands and your Michigan earthquake risk. You might be surprised by some of the areas that actually have a fairly high risk for activity. The map was "derived in part from a US Geological Survey study that created earthquake models to help inform municipalities and insurance companies about such hazards," according to CNN.

While you might think of a handful of cities who are in danger of earthquakes, and those are on the West Coast, there is earthquake activity all around. "Although most economic loss is concentrated along the West Coast, the distribution of relative earthquake risk, as measured by the AELR, is much broader and reinforces the fact that earthquakes are a national problem," FEMA says. "Relatively high earthquake loss ratios are throughout the western and central United States (states within the NMSZ) and in the Charleston, South Carolina, area."

You've heard of the Big Four, right? In metal music. Anyway, the Big 55 are the cities that experience the most earthquake activity. "Fifty-five metropolitan areas, led by the Los Angeles (including Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Anaheim) and San Francisco (including San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley) Bay areas, account for 85% of the total AEL," FEMA says.

This is an interactive map of the United States showing each area's risk for earthquakes. You might be surprised by some of the areas that actually have a pretty high risk for activity. Click the link below to go to the interactive map via CNN.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/23/us/us-earthquake-risk-map-dg/index.html