The sky isn't falling, but it certainly is hazy! And there's a perfectly logical reason why. Before we get to that, if you're up early like me, you have very likely noticed our sunrises have been a tad more orange and somewhat blurry. It almost looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. Well, along with the hazy sky, there's a simple reason why we're experiencing this, Canadian wildfires.

Wildfires in Canada and the Western U.S. can be seen all over North America

While some of the wildfire haze is coming from the western U.S., most is emanating from Canada. If you're sensitive to air pollution, you should be okay here in Iowa, according to We Are Iowa. They say it's nothing more than a visual change. However, in New York, it's far worse. Their air quality is among the worst in the world, and the haze there is much more noticeable than here in Iowa. In fact, I thought our sunrise looked pretty awesome this morning while I was driving into work.

The new normal?

This is not the first year we've experienced hazy days in Iowa. It's been a trend recently. Droughts have to lead to constant wildfires year after year, and so it's become almost normal, unfortunately. A clear sign of mid-summer. It's also very visible on traffic cameras.

Iowa DOT
Iowa DOT
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And certainly, Iowans are not alone.

With any luck, some rain will provide an assist in putting out fires, and we can get back to 'normal' summer weather. Hot and clear. Hazy isn't always a good look on you, summer.

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Stacker used data from the 2020 County Health Rankings to rank every state's average life expectancy from lowest to highest. The 2020 County Health Rankings values were calculated using mortality counts from the 2016-2018 National Center for Health Statistics. The U.S. Census 2019 American Community Survey and America's Health Rankings Senior Report 2019 data were also used to provide demographics on the senior population of each state and the state's rank on senior health care, respectively.

Read on to learn the average life expectancy in each state.

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