SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Thick wildfire smoke from fires in the Quebec province of Canada dominated news cover early this first full week of 2023.

It’s been more than 20 years that we have dealt with anything like this in our area, as the Air Quality Index surged past the 400 level indicating that the outside air was hazardous to breathe in.

Host Andrew Donovan is joined by Andy Yacht, a professor from SUNY ESF (College of Environmental Science and Forestry) and Basil Seggos, Commissioner of the NYSDEC. They discussed what went into the smoky weather, its impacts, and whether we might see more occurrences like this in the future.

Click in the player above to watch the show.