The air quality in the region improved drastically Thursday, with smoke and haze reduced.

The air quality index chart moved from 377 and higher on Wednesday down to 177. Friday morning the needle dropped to 125, but the rating was still in the Code Orange range, which is unhealthy for people who have breathing issues and for children.

Residents of South Central and Eastern Pennsylvania are advised to stay indoors due to hazardous air quality conditions caused by smoke from Canadian wildfires.

While a large part of the Commonwealth is experiencing smoky conditions, the South Central and Eastern regions are currently most impacted.

“With conditions over much of Eastern and Central Pennsylvania in the maroon or hazardous air quality index, residents should stay inside as much as possible until conditions improve,” said Rich Negrin, acting secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection. “Residents are encouraged to check www.airnow.gov to see current conditions and the recommendations that go along with those conditions.”

Under Code Orange conditions, children, sensitive populations such as older people, those who exercise or work outdoors, and those with lung or respiratory conditions such as asthma, emphysema, or bronchitis should limit their outdoor activities.

The weather pattern pushing the smoke from wildfires in Eastern Quebec is forecast to continue until Friday for most of Pennsylvania. DEP will continue to update the forecast to determine ongoing needs for air quality alerts.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality Index provides standardized color codes for forecasting and reporting daily air quality. green signifies good air quality; yellow means moderate air quality; orange represents unhealthy pollution levels for sensitive groups of people; and red warns of unhealthy pollution levels for all.

On an Air Quality Action Day, young children, the elderly, and those with respiratory problems, such as asthma, emphysema, and bronchitis, are especially vulnerable to the effects of air pollution and should limit outdoor activities.

Pennsylvanians are encouraged to:

• Avoid strenuous outdoor activities.

• Keep outdoor activities short.

• Consider moving physical activities indoors or rescheduling them.

Air quality can affect your health, especially people who may be at greater risk, including:

• People with heart disease;

• People with lung disease, including asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD);

• Older adults;

• Women who are pregnant;

• Children and teenagers because their lungs are still developing, and they breathe more air relative to their size, and;

• People who work outdoors.

While the impacts in Pennsylvania are from wildfires in Canada, dry and windy conditions here in the Commonwealth increase the risk of wildfires here. People should pay attention to local warnings and avoid burning outdoors. Find more information about wildfires on the DCNR website.