By CHRIS COLLINS

(Greenfield, MA) — If you’ve noticed an abundance of smoke in the air across the Pioneer Valley, you are not alone. Fire officials say the metallic smelling smoke which descended upon the area yesterday was caused by residual smoke from western wildfires which has become caught up in the jet stream and is blowing across much of the eastern United States. The return of hazy July weather has caused the smoke to become trapped in the atmosphere, triggering the Mass Department of Environmental Protection to issue an Air Quality Advisory. People who have trouble breathing and compromised immune systems are advised to limit outdoor activity until further notice.

A two hour satellite loop shows brighter white clouds surrounding the grayish line of wildfire smoke moving east across New England on Monday afternoon, July 26.
(Satellite animation courtesy of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)