Forecasters at the National Weather Service in Chicago issued an unusual advisory this week: hazy skies across Northwest Indiana were due to smoke drifting in nearly 1,800 miles away from blazing wildfires on the West Coast.
“Dry weather continues this week, though smoke in the atmosphere’s upper-levels from wildfires in the western U.S. will keep the sky hazy into mid-week,” it said.
Highly visible images - including last Wednesday’s orange sky in San Francisco - comes as more Region residents say they believe in climate change.
A recent Indiana University survey taken last year shows 77% of participating Northwest Indiana residents believed climate change is happening, slightly higher than 75% across Indiana.
“It’s a wonderful statistic to me,” said Matt Houser, an adjunct sociology professor and co-leader of the Hoosier Life Survey. “Northwest Indiana stands out as one of the places where there’s a higher percentage that holds pro-climate views.”
