Grace Jacobson / News Director

A record number of Air Quality Index (AQI) alerts were issued over the summer.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued 20 AQI alerts over the course of 52 days, which broke the 2021 record of 13 alerts over 42 days.

They say the red category, which is typically issued once every few years, was issued 14 times this year.

And: More alerts may be in the forecast this fall.

The majority of AQI alerts are from the Canadian wildfires that started in the spring.

Experts say the wildfires are expected to continue burning until snow puts them out in the coming months.