MPCA Issues Air Quality Alert for All of Minnesota

UNDATED (WJON News) -- Wildfire smoke from Canada has prompted the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to issue an air quality alert.

The alert is for the entire state of Minnesota through Monday.

The MPCA says a cold front is pulling smoke down from wildfires in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with multiple rounds expected over the next several days.

Northern Minnesota will be in a red air quality index, which means unhealthy for everyone, while central and southern Minnesota will be in an orange air quality index, creating unhealthy conditions for sensitive groups.

LOOK: The most expensive weather and climate disasters in recent decades

Stacker ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation, based on 2021 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The list starts with Hurricane Sally, which caused $7.3 billion in damages in 2020, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed at least 1,833 people. Keep reading to discover the 50 of the most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S.

Gallery Credit: KATELYN LEBOFF