SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) -- Several times this year KELOLAND has had cloud-free skies but not necessarily blue ones. Smoke from wildfires, especially Canadian wildfires, has obscured what would otherwise be pristine skies.

Smoke from massive, long-lasting wildfires has frequently been drifting across KELOLAND. And studies say that wildfire smoke has increased in our air in recent years.

South Dakota, like much of the central U.S., averages 60 to 80 days of wildfire smoke per year. The number of smoke days is even higher in eastern North Dakota and the northwest corner of Minnesota, 80 to 100 days per year.

Most of the time the smoke is trapped at cloud level, where it poses no health threat to people. Thicker smoke does slightly dim the sun's rays, cutting a degree or two off our aftern

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