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Smoke from wildfires in Canada has traveled 2,000 miles to reach the sky above San Antonio, and dust from the Sahara Desert in Africa has traveled 3,000 miles to do the same.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) reported those pollutants join emissions from fires, industrial activities and volcanic emissions — all from Mexico — already high above the Alamo City.
Then there's the current ozone pollution generated locally by vehicles and made worse by sunshine and little to no wind at times.
Despite all this, San Antonio's air quality is expected to stay just above the "unhealthy for sensitive individuals" rating on Wednesday and reach into the "good range" on Thursday and Friday.
The TCEQ reported the smoke and dust over South Texas have been relatively light and high aloft — or, in other words, not at street level.
A cold front was also pushing south across the state and was expected to stall over the Hill Country on Wednesday. Thunderstorms generated by the front were also expected to help clear the air.
While the plumes of dust from Africa that have arrived here so far have been on the lighter side, more moderate concentrations are on their way by this weekend.
