Due to the fires raging on the West Coast, the Philadelphia region is experiencing hazy skies and uncharacteristically low temperatures, writes Anthony R. Wood for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Jet stream winds have blown smoke from the west and northwest regions of the US across the country to the East Coast and as far south as Kentucky. Some of the fires have been defined as “megafires,” burning across at least 100,000 acres of land.

Although it’s not technically cloudy, the sky appears bleached and colorless when it otherwise would be blue given the fair weather, veiling the sun in a haze.

Meteorologists attribute the low temperatures the region is experiencing in part to the smoke, with recent highs having been ten degrees lower than Philadelphia’s normal high-70s/low80s for this time of year.

The wafted plumes produced by the fires remain largely in the upper atmosphere, having little effect on the air quality here in the Greater Philadelphia area. Meteorologists say the conditions of the sky should improve within the week.

Read more about the effects the West Coast megafires are having on the Philadelphia region here.

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